Fateful Reunion
by Fuzzy Elf
Summary: Valentines tend to surface both when you least expect them, and when it's the most inconvenient. And they generally want something. Reese is no different, and Beka's headaches were just beginning the night her little cousin came back into her life. Seas 2
1. Fateful Reunion

Fateful Reunion

Fateful Reunion

Beka Valentine sat quietly staring into space from her seat on the _Andromeda Ascendant_. She had been part of the crew for what now? Thirteen, maybe fourteen months? It was more than a year, anyway. Though she regularly told Dylan otherwise, sarcastically of course, she felt it was the smartest decision that she had ever made. She and her crew were a lot better off for it, and for the first time in a long time she felt like she was actually doing something that mattered.

Unfortunately, the pessimistic thoughts that she'd had from the beginning still swirled in her head. What if Dylan's dream and this entire mission to restore the Commonwealth really was just a wild goose chase like she'd first dismissed it as? Was it really worth risking their lives for something so far fetched?

These were the thoughts that were constantly conflicting in her head. All she really wanted was what was best for her crew. And she'd heard all of them say at one time or another how much better life was on the _Andromeda_. The crew quarters were much more livable than those on the _Eureka Maru_. Trance had more room for her plants and a _much_ better medical facility. Rev Bem, who looked for good things in the bad anyway, was visibly more comfortable here. And Harper was certainly never bored with experimenting with Rommie's circuitry.

Beka rolled her eyes as she decided for the millionth time that week that her decision had been best. If nothing else, it was keeping them out of excessive legal trouble.

Beka stood up and rolled her shoulders, stretching out her stiff back muscles. She'd lost track of how long she'd been sitting here as everyone else on the ship slept. It wasn't that she minded; she wasn't going to get any sleep anyway. She would have liked a little company though.

Suddenly, Rommie's image flashed on the screen and called for Beka's attention. "Beka, we are being hailed by an unidentified ship. I am unfamiliar of its origin, but I believe it to be a cargo freighter."

"Put them on screen, Rommie," Beka ordered. It was the first interesting thing that had happened so far.

When the visual changed however, she was more than a little shocked to see the unexpected caller. The girl had dark, stringy hair, roughly pulled back out of her face and she wore a sleeveless black vest over a tight red shirt. She too wore a startled expression.

"Beka?" she gaped. "Well, I wasn't expecting you to be answering calls, that's for damn sure."

"And I wasn't expecting to hear from you any time soon," Beka replied. "But it's good to see you're still alive."

"You too, cuz. But where the hell is the _Maru_?"

"Don't worry, she's here. I'll explain it all to you in person as soon as you get on board."

*

Beka watched as her cousin carefully landed her ship in the _Andromeda's_ docking bay. She opened the hatch and jumped to the ground and walked with a confident stride toward Beka with open arms.

"Good to see you again, Captain Valentine," the girl winked.

"Likewise, Reese," Beka smiled warmly. "You look good. Did you get everything worked out?"

"Naturally," Reese grinned the same deceivingly charming grin that Beka had grown up to associate with her cousin, as well as her brother, Rafe.

"You better have," Beka warned her.

"Beka, it's me," she did it again.

Beka raised a suspicious eyebrow as the door to the corridor slide open and Trance Gemini entered the docking bay. "Um, hi, Beka? I don't mean to be nosy, but I thought I heard a noise and I just wanted to make sure that everything was-" She caught sight of the girl with Beka and recognized her immediately. "Reese? Reese Valentine! Oh my goodness!" The young creature ran over and embraced her old friend.

"Trance! Hey!" Reese shouted excitedly. "This is great! Are Rev Bem and Harper here too?"

"Yeah, hey! We're all together again!" Trance's smile widened.

"But why are you all here? How the hell could you _afford_ this ship?" Reese still hadn't gotten an answer to her question.

"It isn't ours," Trance shook her head.

"Then why-"

"We'll talk in my quarters," Beka interrupted. "It's kind of a long story."

"I'm coming too," Trance beamed. "I can help tell it."

*

"So, basically, you're all helping some three-hundred year old Highguard officer to restore the Commonwealth to the galaxies?" Reese summed up what she'd been told.

"Well, he doesn't really look three hundred," Trance shook her head. "He was kinda, well, frozen, I guess."

"I still think it's a crazy mission."

"So did I," Beka nodded. "But it's become a cause worth fighting for."

"Am I hearing this right?" Reese scoffed. "My great independent cousin who always said she'd never follow orders from anyone is now doing the bidding of some disillusioned captain?"

"I'm not doing anyone's bidding," Beka corrected her. "We are Dylan's crew and we're helping him in his mission, but he holds no authority over us."

"We don't have to salute him or anything," Trance added.

Reese looked skeptically at them both, then broke a grin. "I don't suppose there's room for one more then?"

Beka smiled and Trance clapped her hands happily. "You're part of my crew. There's room whether Dylan likes it or not. I'll introduce you the moment he gets up."

*

The doors to the bridge slid open as Captain Dylan Hunt entered the room. He glanced around and noted the presence of Tyr Anasazi, Seamus Harper and Rev Bem, as well as Rommie's android body. Harper looked up from Rommie's circuitry where he was making a few adjustments on the ship's navigational equipment. He turned back to his work when he saw it was Dylan.

"Sleep well, Dylan?" Rev Bem asked politely. Tyr rolled his eyes, clearly uncaring about the captain's answer.

"Yes, thank you, Rev," Dylan replied, noting Tyr's reaction with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, that's more than you can say for some of us," Harper grumbled.

"What was that?"

Harper turned around again with a displeased expression on his face. "All I could hear for the longest time was Beka and Trance yapping the night away down the hall. It's times like that when I hate being a light sleeper."

"Where are Beka and Trance, anyway?" Dylan looked once more around the room.

"They are still in Beka's room, Captain," Rommie informed him. "Along with another."

"Another?" Everyone's attention was on Rommie.

"Yes, we were hailed last night by an unknown ship during Beka's watch. She addressed the pilot as-"

"Reese Valentine," Beka finished for Rommie as she, Trance and Reese entered the room. "Navigations officer of the _Eureka Maru_. And not a bad pilot, either."

"_Reese?_" Harper and Rev exclaimed in unison at their former crewmate.

"Reese?" Dylan wondered at the name.

"Teresa," Reese relayed her full name in disgust. "But if anyone ever calls me that, I'll rip out their throat. There's a trader stationed on Vayla IV that can vouch for that."

"Well, that takes care of first impressions," Tyr stated bluntly. Reese exchanged a glare with him and Trance spoke up, attempting to break the tension.

"Um, Dylan? Reese wants to join the crew on the _Andromeda_ to help you," she explained in her innocent voice.

"And you're Beka's sister?" Dylan asked.

"Cousin," Reese corrected.

"Ah, and how did you find us?"

"I've been looking for the _Maru_ for a while now, but nobody seemed to know where to find it," Reese informed him. "Until this one guy who would only tell me--for some serious coinage, of course--that to find Beka, I needed to contact the _Andromeda_. I didn't know why, but I got myself a ship and managed to find you guys, and _that_ wasn't easy, let me tell you. But I hail the ship and there's my big cousin right on the screen."

"I see," Dylan rubbed his chin, wondering what to think. "Could I speak to you alone?"

"Yeah, sure," Reese shrugged and followed him out the door.

"So she just got here last night?" Harper asked Beka as soon as the door closed.

"Yeah, it was weird," Beka nodded. "No warning or anything, she just appeared."

"That's our Reese," Harper grinned.

"She's always been full of surprises," Rev Bem agreed.

"Or in some kind of trouble," Beka added skeptically.

"I'm just so glad she's back!" Trance's smile widened.

"Excuse me?" Tyr interrupted. "Why is she here, exactly?"

"She's a member of our crew," Trance pouted slightly. "She belongs with us."

"But, she deserted you?"

"Hey, Valentines don't desert anybody," Beka defended her cousin and her family name.

"Then where was she all this time?" Tyr was trying his hardest to make the others in his presence uncomfortable. And it was beginning to work.

"Call it 'away on business'," Harper snapped. Beka folded her arms and Trance followed suit, trying to show that she was not affected by Tyr's opinion. The Nietzschean smiled to himself and went back to work on the control panel. Rommie, who had decided to stay out of the argument, raised her eyebrow at everyone in the room, and left quickly before she was asked for an opinion.

*

"I'm going to be straight with you, Reese," Dylan told her upon their arrival to his quarters. "I need to know if you're reliable."

"What do you mean?" Reese wasn't sure if there was hidden meaning behind the question. Did he think she was a spy or something?

"You had your reasons for leaving the _Eureka Maru_, I'm sure," Dylan explained. "But I need to know whether or not you're just going to take off on me if I make you a part of my crew."

"I left to pay off a debt with an old buddy," Reese informed him. "Now that all loose ends are tied, I came back to continue where I left off. If Beka's loyal to you and the _Andromeda_, then so am I."

Her answer satisfied Dylan, and he broke a smile. "Welcome aboard, then." He extended a hand to her and she readily accepted it, sealing the deal with a firm handshake.

***

Tyr looked up as Dylan entered the bridge. Harper, Beka, Rev and Trance had left long ago, and he had been alone with his thoughts for a few hours.

"Dylan, do you think it's wise to appoint this girl, whom you know nothing about, as a member of your crew?" Tyr phrased his question carefully, trying not to show that his only concern was that she was just another annoying presence.

"I did the same for all of you, Tyr, so why not for her?" Dylan coolly replied.

"What is it about her that makes you feel she could be a benefit to your ship?"

"Well, she tells me that she knows the star systems like the back of her hand, and, when necessary, she is a skilled fighter."

"She's-" Tyr stopped himself, trying to arrange his thoughts. "Alright, why do you think you can trust her?"

"Beka trusts her, and I trust Beka, just as I would trust you or anyone else on this ship. Is there anything else you need cleared up, Mr. Anasazi?"

Tyr did not reply, merely shook his head, and instead turned his attention back to the control panel. She was from Beka's crew, and he rolled his eyes at the thought of another one of _them_ on board. This new being would probably either try to avoid being around him, like Harper, or be incessantly clingy, like Trance. He did not particularly care for either option.

*

"So where did you go, anyway?"

Trance and Reese were gazing out into space, catching up on old times. Trance was eager to hear about her friend's adventures during her absence.

"A couple different systems," Reese shrugged. "Repaying an old buddy-"

"Taron," Trance nodded. "You told me before you left. What kind of stuff did you do?"

"Just some smuggling, nothing too dangerous."

"You could have gotten into trouble."

"Trance, I wouldn't get called on for these jobs if I got caught easily."

"I know, I know, you're one of the best there are at what you do," Trance nodded. "I'm still allowed to worry, you know."

"You sound like my cousin."

"You mean a lot to her--to all of us."

"I know, Trance. And I understand how you and Beka feel-"

"Harper and Rev too."

"Yeah, them too, but I need the action."

"Is that why you were hooked on flash?" Beka's voice came from behind the two of them. "For the action? Did you get that rush you desire so much?" They slowly turned around to acknowledge her presence.

"That was a long time ago, Beka," Reese protested. "I haven't touched the stuff since you brought me on the _Maru_. You know that."

Beka shot a look toward her younger cousin that said, "_Do I?_" all too clearly.

Trance looked from Beka to Reese and back again, sensing that they needed to speak alone. "I'm gonna go see what Harper and Rev are doing," she excused herself and scampered from the room.

"You don't believe me, do you," Reese frowned.

"It's not that," Beka sighed, walking over beside her. "It's...I've _been_ there, Reese. I _know_ what flash does, and I know what it makes you do."

"Bullshit," the girl shook her head disbelievingly. "You've never done any drugs before. You've told me that a zillion times. You can't convince me of this one, cuz."

"It was while you were gone. Ask anyone onboard; it was not my finest hour."

"I don't believe it."

"Well, you're gonna have to, because it's true," Beka sighed. "And I don't ever want to go through that again, or see you go through it again either."

"I can take care of myself."

"You're too impulsive."

"Hey, I've gotten you out of trouble before."

"Yeah, and I've had to get you and Rafe out of a _lot_ more." Reese didn't reply to that and instead looked back out into space. Beka did the same, and spoke what was on her mind. "You're still my second-in-command, you know. If anything happens to me-"

"Shut-up, Beka, nothing'll happen to you."

"You shut-up. If anything ever happens to me, I'm counting on you to take care of the others, okay? Especially Trance. For whatever the reason, she looks up to you."

Reese hated to think of having to do anything without Beka there to help her, but she nodded anyway, knowing that her promise was important to her cousin. "You know I will." Beka put her arm around Reese's shoulders and squeezed. "So, I'm guessing now that we're working for Mr. Do-gooder, I won't get to do much smuggling?" Beka laughed and punched her in the shoulder, and Reese grinned.

"No, I'm guessing that probably wouldn't go over well," Beka smirked.

"Damn, put right out of business."

"So," Beka continued. "I have to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"Where'd you get the ship?"

"Swiped it."

"_Reese!_"

"You asked."

"Just...don't tell Rev."

Reese nodded. "I have to ask you something, too."

"Really? What?"

The cheesy grin returned again. "What did you mean by 'not a bad pilot'? Beka, I'm a freakin' flying _ace_!"

Beka punched her again, straightened up and headed toward the door. "Shut up, hotshot. We'll see if you can live up to your legend later, okay?" Reese laughed at that comment. She was just as Beka remembered her: cocky, but damn good at what she did. "Dylan's already assigned you your own quarters," she said. "You can ask the others to show you where it is. I'm going to bed."

"Catch you later," Reese waved.

As the doors opened and Beka left, Harper and Trance entered.

"Reese Valentine, you are lookin' _fine_," Harper winked at her. "And here I haven't even had the chance to _properly_ welcome you back yet."

"Not a chance, Harper," Reese flashed her trademark grin. "I haven't gotten _that_ desperate since I've been gone."

"Well, you can't blame a guy for trying."

"He never gives up, does he?" Reese directed her question to Trance.

"If he did, he wouldn't be our Harper." Trance smiled.

"All hail the one you all know and love," Harper held his arms open. Reese laughed and hugged him tight. "Now there's the sugar I've been missing."

"So, what have you been doing since I've been gone?" she asked him.

"Well, I've got myself an AI to play with now," Harper nodded. "And did you happen to see her android body? I built that, thank you very much. And did an excellent job, might I add."

"I love it when you're modest, Harper."

"What can I say, babe? I'm a freakin' genius."

"And don't we all know it," Reese smirked at Trance, who giggled. "So, hey, do I get a tour of this thing or what?"

"Ooh, yeah!" Trance agreed, hopping in excitement. "Harper and I will take you!" She happily hurried to the door as Reese and Harper grinned at each other and followed.

*

"Captain, I'm picking up a distress signal from a ship in our vicinity," Rommie's on-screen image informed him.

"Let's see it, Rommie," Dylan told her. She complied, and the image changed to the face of a frightened young man. Sparks showered down all around him and out-of-sight people screamed as the ship lurched back and forth.

"Anybody who can hear us...under attack...please to the Divine help us...deflectors down..." the message cut out and Rommie's image returned.

"How far are we from that ship?" Dylan asked.

"It's very close, Captain."

"Then what are we waiting for? Tyr, get us over there!"

"Immediately," Tyr mumbled.

"All personnel report to the bridge!" Dylan ordered over the communicators.

*

Harper and Trance were showing Reese the hydroponics garden when they heard the command.

"What's up, Boss?" Harper asked.

"Just get down here, Harper, I'll explain then," Dylan's voice replied.

"Sounds important," Trance observed.

"Doesn't feel like we're being shot at," Reese shook her head. "That's the most important thing in my book."

"We'd better hurry, anyway," Trance replied, and the three of them jogged to the bridge. Beka and Rev were already there, as well as Tyr, Dylan and Rommie.

"Sleep well?" Reese grinned at her cousin.

"Oh, shut up, brat," Beka rubbed her eyes. "I can't catch one wink around here without having to dash to the Bridge on an emergency."

"What's goin' on?" Harper asked as Trance ran to her station.

"We have intercepted a distress call," Rommie explained.

"And we're on our way to play 'Hero' yet again," Tyr muttered, eyes on the main viewport.

"Do you have their coordinates?" Reese was already checking one of the vacant control panels.

"We have their location and were about to enter slipstream," Rommie told her.

Reese took one look at the information that the panel spewed out and her fingers raced over the keypad.

"What are you doing?" Dylan sounded suspicious.

"I've replotted your course," Reese replied as she entered the new information. "It's not _that_ much more efficient, but we won't skim so close to an asteroid belt this way."

Dylan exchanged a dumbfounded look with Rommie, then glanced over at Beka, who was wearing the '_I told you so_' smirk on her face.

"Uh, alright then," Dylan was at a slight loss of words. He hopped into his chair and ordered, "Engage slipstream."

*

The _Andromeda _exited slipstream and the crew beheld three, comparatively small Nietzschean fighters attacking a cargo freighter.

"Hired goons," Beka sneered at the fighters. "That cargo must be pretty important."

"I'm more concerned with the crew onboard rather than the cargo," Dylan replied. "Tyr, get the cannons ready!"

"Don't you have any fighters?" Reese asked.

"It is unnecessary to use the slip fighters against so few targets," Rommie folded her arms, her eyes on the screen. "My cannons will suffice."

"Yeah, but how much fun is that?" Reese muttered, and Harper smirked in agreement.

"Rev, hail one of the fighters," Dylan commanded. Rev complied, and the image of a young, muscular Nietzschean appeared on the screen. "This is Captain Dylan Hunt of the _Andromeda Ascendant_," he told him authoritatively. "I am warning you to-"

"Mind your own business, human," the Nietzschean snapped.

"It becomes my business when it concerns the lives of innocent people," Dylan retorted. "I am advising you to call off this attack, or you'll be dealing with much more than a cargo freighter."

The Nietzschean's lips curled into a snarl and he cut off the transmission. Less than a second later, the fighters broke off their attack on the freighter, changed formation and sped toward the _Andromeda_, opening fire upon the Highguard ship.

"You know what to do, Mr. Anasazi," Dylan told Tyr without hesitation. 

Two cannon blasts left the ship, and two of the fighters exploded in a white light. The third fighter broke away from the attack, taking evasive action and wasting no time in entering slipstream to escape.

"Should we follow them?" Beka raised an eyebrow. "He'll probably report back to whoever hired him to waste that freighter."

"Let's find out if those people are alright, first," Dylan decided.

*

Dylan, Beka and Harper stood on the cargo freighter, inspecting the damage done by the Nietzschean fighters.

"Why do you think you were attacked?" Dylan asked Warner Gliess, the young man he'd seen on the distress call.

Warner shrugged. "We aren't carrying anything of extreme value, I know that," he replied. "It's just some basic supplies. Nothing the Nietzscheans would want."

"It had nothing to do with what _they_ wanted," Beka told him. "Those were mercenaries. It's someone else who's holding a grudge, possibly against your company. Who are you shipping for?"

"Trans-Galactic," the man nodded.

Beka snorted in recognition of the name and turned away. "Sid," she grumbled. "I know _I_ wouldn't mind seeing your company go down."

"Deflectors are back online, boss," Harper called from where he was working. "Everything looks shipshape, if you don't mind the pun, and I believe that breaks my own record of fastest repair job ever, thank you. Please, hold the applause."

Dylan couldn't help but chuckle at Harper's self-proclaimed greatness. "Well," he turned back to Warner. "I believe you are ready to go."

"Thank you so much for your help, Captain Hunt," Warner attempted a proper salute. "We are in your debt."

"There's no need, just try to avoid any more trouble," Dylan nodded, and prepared to leave.

*

"So, Trance, guess who they were shipping for?"

"I don't know, Beka, I wasn't-oh! Ugh, Trans-Galactic, right?" Trance scrunched up her nose.

"You guessed it."

"Okay, I missed something," Reese raised an eyebrow. "Sam Profit owns Trans-Galactic, right? What did he do? Mess up a shipping order or something? I mean, I know Uncle Ignatius and-"

"Sam Profit is _Uncle_ _Sid_, squirt," Beka cut her off. "And besides holding Trance and I hostage, torturing me, forcing flash on me and trying to send us both flying straight into a sun, no! There's no hard feelings at all between us."

"I'm just gonna shut up, now," Reese declared.

"The only reason we're alive is because Beka blackmailed him at the last minute," Trance said.

"Yup," Beka nodded sharply. "As long as I'm alive, Sid's illegal activities aren't exposed to the authorities."

"Illegal activities?" Reese sounded suspicious. "_You_ can't turn in someone for smuggling, Beka!"

"Murder."

"O...kay."

"Could we please change the subject?" Trance inquired.

"Sure, how 'bout food?" Reese agreed. "Where can I get something to eat around here?"

"Right this way," Trance smiled. "Coming, Beka?"

"No, I'm going back to bed," Beka shook her head. "See you guys."

*

Dreegan Mako sat in his spacious office, staring thoughtfully out the window. He leaned back in his reclining chair to put his feet up, and placed his scaled hands together in front of his face so his two index fingers were barely touching his lips.

Outside the building, a small Nietzschean fighter descended on his private landing pad. Dreegan rolled his eyes in exasperation. As if he needed to be blatantly connected with the mercenaries. Whatever happened to discrete business agreements these days?

Well, at least the average person wouldn't be able to tell the ship's origin through the cloak of night. Perhaps he wouldn't have to have this ignorant creature executed afterall. What a pity.

"Mr. Mako," a security guard called attention to himself. "The Nietzschean, Braighle is here to see you. He says it is urgent."

Dreegan didn't move save for a flick of his finger, indicating that the guard should show the visitor in. The guard nodded, and disappeared for a moment. Almost immediately, Braighle stomped into the office, seemingly disturbed about something.

"Sir, I-"

"Have come very close to compromising my position, are you aware of that?" Dreegan cut him off. "I was sure that I made it _quite_ clear that there was to be no possible way for the attack on the cargo freighter to be directly traced back to Mako Shipping and Transport."

"You did, but-"

"You are still young, Braighle. It would be a shame if something were to happen to you, would it not?" Dreegan's lips curled into a vicious smile. "Not good for your pride's name, I would expect."

Braighle stood stiff as a board, trying to hide any signs of intimidation. "No, it would not."

Dreegan turned slowly in his chair and made eye contact with the young Nietzschean. "Then it is lucky for you that I still have use for you, provided you do not make any more mistakes. Now, where are the others?"

"Dead."

Dreegan's reptilian eyes narrowed, and his mouth twitched slightly at the unexpected reply. "What did you say?" he asked, teeth clenched, hoping he'd heard wrong.

"We were attacked by another ship," Braighle told him. "The freighter must have sent out a distress call. The other two with me were destroyed."

Dreegan did not reply, and broke eye contact with the Nietzschean. The last thing he needed was a meddler in his affairs, even an uninformed meddler. He stood, and walked to the window and gazed outside, sorting his thoughts. "What was the ship that attacked you?"

"The _Andromeda Ascendant_."

"That will be all," Dreegan abruptly ended the meeting. There was something he'd heard about that ship, something that he could use, that he needed to confirm, and he wanted to begin right away. "Hide your ship and return here in a few hours. I'll need you for another mission. The pay will be triple what you were making on the last one."

"I'll return later, then," Braighle's eyes twinkled at the thought of that amount of money.

*

"So, he's taking care of you guys then, huh?"

"Yeah, he's a really great captain--not that Beka isn't, of course, I just-"

"I know what you mean, Trance," Reese couldn't help laughing.

"Yeah, I know you do," Trance smiled. "You always do."

It was late, and most of the others were asleep. Tyr was the only one on the bridge, just in case there was an emergency. The two girls had spent the time just chattering about the others and catching up on what they'd missed. There had been, of course, a couple questions from Reese regarding Harper, but she'd quickly steered off topic again.

"So," Trance paused for a moment before continuing. She'd wanted to bring up this question all day. "How did you know there was an asteroid belt so close to our course?"

"What?" Reese raised an eyebrow, regarding the purple alien curiously.

"Oh, you know, just back when we were about to enter slipstream, you changed the course so we wouldn't skim close to an asteroid belt. How'd you know it was there?"

Reese cocked her head to one side and eyed Trance, who avoided eye contact and stared out the window. Then Reese laughed and shook her head. "You figured me out, kid. There was no asteroid belt."

"I knew it!" Trance beamed. "I checked that course _twice_ after you did that and I was _sure_ that it was clear!"

"Why can I never put a scam past you, Trance?"

"I dunno," Trance shrugged. "It's a talent. But, why did you make it up, anyway?"

"Just to impress the Cap," Reese admitted. "You know, a little nudge in the direction of making sure that he believed that he'd made the right decision in making me part of the crew."

"You wouldn't have to prove that."

"Yeah, well, lucky he doesn't believe in double-checking, eh? Or else my scam would have been up a lot sooner than I would have liked. I'm guessing Captain Perfection doesn't go for con games."

"No, not really," Trance giggled. "Well, I better get to bed. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Sweet dreams, kid."

*

Dreegan grinned evilly at the information that was displayed on the flexi before him. He had spies planted all over the galaxies, trying somehow to dig up dirt on his rivals, foremost the shipping company, Trans-Galactic.

Sam Profit would not sell his company to the vast and expanding Mako Shipping and Transport. Dreegan had tried many ways: bargaining, bribery, blackmail, the latest being the fear tactic when he'd arranged to have one of Profit's ships attacked. Profit would know who had done it but would have no way to prove it.

Now, Dreegan's mind raced as his new plan took form. This one would be it, Profit would have no choice but to sell if he could get the information he needed. His eyes settled on one name on the flexi: Rebecca Valentine.

* * *

Beka was the first one up, and she walked onto the bridge, stretching her arms behind her back. "Quiet night, Tyr?" she asked him.

"Quieter than your watch had been, I imagine," Tyr replied.

"Yeah, well, Reese was a welcome surprise," she smiled sleepily.

"She strikes me as very similar to your brother."

"They're two of a kind, I agree."

"As I recall, your brother's original agenda did not involve a favourable outcome for us."

Beka sat down next to Tyr and frowned. "I know where you're going with this, and you're wrong. Reese is an important member of my crew and I trust her completely."

Tyr matched her frown. "You can look me in the eye and tell me that you didn't find her story of how she found us somewhat odd?"

"No, I couldn't," Beka shook her head. "But that's because that's how all of her stories go. Reese is a thief, a smuggler and an accomplished con artist among many other things. Do you honestly think, though, that she would reveal what really happened to a righteous Highguard officer?"

"I suppose not."

"Exactly. Yes, of course she was hiding something; she always is. But of everything Reese is, a traitor she is not," she made the point clear and Tyr nodded understandingly. "And by the way," Beka continued. "Don't pick on Rafe. If you remember, he came through in the end."

"So he did," Tyr allowed a slight grin.

*

"Price! Get in here on the double!"

"Yes, Mr. Mako?" Price entered the office.

"I want you to contact this woman," Dreegan handed his assistant the flexi. "Her last known whereabouts are there, as well as what to do if she refuses to co-operate. Do you think you can handle it?"

"Yessir!" Price accepted the flexi and scanned over the information.

"Good," Dreegan replied. "Summon Braighle and take him with you."

* * *

"First Officer Beka Valentine," Dylan spoke into his comm. "Your presence is requested on the Bridge."

"_Ooh, very formal_," her voice came back to him through the comm. "_I'm guessing we're on our way to another possible Commonwealth sign-up?_"

"Very astute," Dylan replied. "Now get down here."

Rommie's holographic image formed beside him. "Has it occurred to you that the circumstances to which we were contacted by the Aakresians were somewhat," she searched for the right word, "odd?"

"It's true that they made first contact, Rommie, but why pass up a chance to add another planet to the charter?" Dylan asked.

"Have you checked into their background? Do you know what they're like?"

"My source is headed here as we speak," he smiled reassuringly.

Rommie frowned. "I am simply considering all possibilities. There have been previous instances that have led me to be more cautious on our missions."

"I appreciate your concern, Rommie, but I'd like to remain optimistic." The doors slid open and Beka, Reese and Harper entered. "Beka," Dylan turned to her. "What can you tell me about the Aakresians?"

"The Aakresians? They're the industry rats of the known universe," Beka shrugged. "You look on the bottom of any gadget or gizmo you can buy or trade, and it's almost guaranteed to have a 'made in Aakresia' stamped on the bottom."

"They're also the base planet for one of the major shipping industries, Mako Shipping and Transport," Reese added.

"So, what would be their reasons for volunteering to sign the Commonwealth Charter?" Dylan asked his next question.

"That could be any number of reasons, Boss, from hopes of keeping their industrial monopoly when the New Commonwealth is organized, to, uh, seeing the sign up as a good business investment for their shipping company," Harper speculated Aakresia's intentions. "The Highguard is gonna need cargo transports."

Dylan scratched his chin, thinking to himself. "What do you think, Rommie?"

"They all seem to be perfectly plausible ideas," she nodded.

"I agree," he decided. "I'll send them a reply. Reese, for your first official act, plot a course for Aakresia. And Beka, get in that pilot's seat."

* * *

"Mr. Price, I'm pleased to welcome you aboard my ship," Dylan extended his hand to the Aakresian ambassador and his two assistants before him.

"The pleasure is all mine," he replied, a polite smile forming on his scaled face. His race was of humanoid build, but covered from head to toe with lizard-like scales. His short, reptilian tail curled upward at the end, and his forked tongue periodically slipped in and out of his mouth. "It is in Aakresia's best interests to support you, Captain Hunt."

"I'm very glad to hear that." Dylan accompanied his guests to the Bridge, with Rommie walking alongside them. The Aakresians had arrived in a small vessel, which was now docked in one of _Andromeda's_ hangars. The ambassador had been sent to learn the exact details of the charter.

"I'd like you and your assistants to feel at home here on the _Andromeda_, Mr. Price," Dylan said, all smiles. "If there's anything you would specifically like to see, any of my crew can assist you."

"That is very kind of you, Captain Hunt. I assure you that we are quite at home aboard a starship. Our planet builds many of them, afterall."

*

Reese watched as Dylan welcomed the Aakresians. She stood safely out of sight, not wanting the ambassador to recognize her. Dreegan Mako practically ran the planet, so she wasn't surprised that some of his employees had been sent. Her problem ran more along the lines of them wanting their cargo ship back...

The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that she'd been followed. Dylan _had_ mentioned that Aakresia had contacted him, and not the other way around, to sign the Commonwealth Charter. What if they had other, less constructive plans for the _Andromeda_?

Beka would tell her that she was being paranoid, and that she wouldn't even be recognized. She wasn't willing to believe this yet, however, and felt safer staying hidden from view.

*

"They give me the creeps."

"Oh, Harper, you've got to learn to look for the beauty in all creatures."

"No way, Trance, they're all scaly and slimy and ewww," he shuddered.

"You wouldn't say that if the ambassador was a female."

"Well, now that you mention it..." Trance rolled her eyes as Harper trailed off his sentence, trying to tease her. "No, seriously, Trance, they're gross and absolutely oozing...snake oil."

"Sounds like somebody else I know," she grinned, and he smirked sarcastically in reply.

"I agree with Harper, kiddo," Reese stated as she entered the hydroponics garden. "They're creepy."

"I would have thought you would have a more open mind."

"Normally I would. But I have a bad feeling about those guys."

"Why? What's wrong?" Trance asked as both she and Harper stared at Reese curiously.

"Pfft," Reese scoffed. "Nothing's wrong, kid. They're just those kind of weird things you see in your nightmares when you're little."

"They're not what _I_ saw in my nightmares," Harper frowned.

"Alright, I'll give you that."

"I don't know, I think people shouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions," Trance shook her head. "Everyone deserves a chance to proove themselves."

Reese wasn't so stupid as not to pick up on Trance's reference to her own situation; of course Reese wouldn't be here if Beka hadn't given her a chance to proove herself. It was only that she felt nervous around the Aakresians, but couldn't tell her friends the real reason why, that was her main problem.

* * *

Mr. Price awoke early, at a time he'd figured to be before anyone else on the ship would do so, and sat up in his bed. He'd slept comfortably in the guest quarters of the _Andromeda_ last night, and was prepared to move the plan forward to the next phase. He lifted his scaly hand and tapped the two-way communicator that was cleverly disguised as a pendant of Aakresia's national crest.

"Braighle, are you awake?" he spoke into it, his forked tongue flicking out of his mouth.

"Ready and waiting," the Nietzschean mercenary's voice replied.

"Good. Proceed with phase two. I will take care of everything else."

"No problem."

Price tapped the comm again and it switched off. He stood up, donned his ambassador robes, and left the room.

*

Reese was walking through the corridor, admiring the ship's décor, when a door not far away from her slid open with a whoosh of air. She ducked into a recess in the wall, and watched distrustfully as the Aakresian ambassador emerged from the room. He turned in the opposite direction from her, and, from what she could remember from her unfamiliar mental layout of the ship's interior, he seemed to be headed toward the Bridge.

_Interesting_, she thought. _It's a little early for someone to be out and about so early. _She remembered Harper telling her that he was on guard shift last night, and she didn't like the idea of him being alone with one of Mako's goons.

Reese waited until Price turned the corner, and stealthly followed him down the hallway.

*

Braighle sat in the cockpit of the Aakresian ship that had transported him, Price, and his assistants to the _Andromeda_. He carefully pryed open the panelling on the control board and scanned the interior. Several wires and cables intermingled inside, and Braighle took a moment to locate the one that he desired. He reached his strong, muscular arm into the compartment and disconnected one of the larger cables. This one had fed power to the main engines, thrusters and turbo boosters.

With his task completed, Braighle replaced the panelling as he'd found it. He left the cockpit and made his way to the cargo storage area. Once there, he lifted the lid on a large crate that had been conveniently emptied. He stepped inside and pulled the lid over top of him.

*

Harper jumped slightly as the sound of the bridge door opening snapped him from his catnap in the pilot seat. He could remember conversing with Rommie, or rather, Rommies last night, as both the android and holographic avatars had nothing better to do than shoot the breeze.

His last thoughts however, had been about Reese. He hadn't been able to get his returned friend out of his head, and had sat drifting in and out of daydreams throughout the night. Now that he was fully awake again, he could see that the Rommies were gone, and Price had just entered the room.

"Ah, Mr. Harper, wasn't it?" Price asked, his reptilian eyes shining.

"The one and only," Harper replied, hopping to his feet. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Actually, I was looking for Captain Hunt," Price explained. "Have you seen him?"

*

Reese pressed her ear against the bridge door, trying to hear what was going on. She didn't want to go inside, just in case the Aakresian believed she had been stalking him, which she supposed she had been. But she was prepared to act should any trouble--what sort of trouble she was expecting she wasn't quite sure of yet--happen to occur.

"You know, it works better if you just open the door," a voice came from behind her.

Startled, Reese slipped a little bit and steadied herself against the door as she turned to face Dylan. "Oh, hey, Dylan! I was just...uh...trying to...uh...see if-" Dylan's face sported a half-smirk, and she cut herself off, realising that she wasn't going to get a decent story away after being caught off-guard. "Busted, huh?"

"There's no need to eavesdrop," Dylan chuckled. "You're a member of the crew and that means you're free to go anywhere on the ship whether there's an ambassador present or not. Now let's go, I could use you to help plot our next course."

"Whatever you say, Boss," she replied in a chirpy voice, though her breakfast was doing cartwheels in her stomach.

Dylan tapped the panel on the wall and the door slid open. He and Reese walked through as Harper and Price turned to see who had entered.

"Well, speak of the Devil," Harper grinned. "Here's the man now."

Price nodded in response, but regarded the young female for a moment. She seemed so familiar to him, but he couldn't place where he'd seen her. He gave up trying to figure out the mystery for now, and turned to Dylan.

"Captain Hunt," he began, walking towards the man. "In the name of Aakresia, I thank you for your hospitality."

"Ah, there's no need for that, Mr. Price, but you are certainly very welcome," Dylan assured him. "Now am I correct in assuming you will be leaving today?"

"You are indeed correct, Captain," Price smiled. "There is much that needs to be discussed and decided with Aakresia's leaders."

Harper, bored with the political conversation, hopped over the railing behind the pilot seat and slid up beside Reese. "Good morning, gorgeous," he grinned. "Sleep well?"

She threw an amused smirk in his direction. "Not as well as I could have."

"Well, that's understandable, isn't it? I mean, what female in any galaxy could get a good night's sleep knowing that Yours Truly was staying awake all night, all alone, just down the hallway?" he winked at her.

"I did it for years, Harper, and it never affected my sleep patterns," she replied without missing a beat.

"Ouch, now I'd have to say that I'm hurt," he stated sarcastically.

"Ooh, poor baby."

"Really, though, Reese," he began seriously. "I-it's good that you're back."

"It's good to be back," she agreed, still looking at the display screen.

"Well, yeah, but I mean-"

"Mr. Harper, Ms. Valentine," Dylan called from across the room, interrupting Harper. "Will you two please assist Mr. Price in loading his ship for his trip?"

Harper's face fell slightly, but he caught himself in time. "Sure thing, Boss," he nodded, and he and Reese left the room.

"Thank you again, Captain Hunt," Price was really laying it on thick.

"Just be sure to put in a good word for us in the meetings," Dylan chuckled and shook Price's scaly hand.

*

Harper and Reese had finished aiding the androids and Price's two assistants to load the Aakresian cruiser and had returned to the bridge, where the rest of the crew was now located with the exception of Dylan, who had gone to the hanger to bid Price a final farewell.

The doors slid open and everyone looked up for a moment to see Dylan walk in, then went back to their respective conversations: Rev with Rommie, Harper with Trance, and Beka and Reese with Tyr.

"So when do I get a chance to fly this baby?" Reese asked, eyes shining.

"You don't fly like your young friend, do you?" Tyr asked, slightly worried.

"She's had a _bit_ more experience than Trance, Tyr," Beka smirked.

"Yeah, I used to pilot the _Maru_ on regular shifts with Beka," Reese nodded.

"Well, then it's always a plus to add the expertise of another pilot," Tyr smiled. "We certainly could use it. That would be the only reason that I..._attempted_ to teach Trance to navigate the slipstream." At this, he rolled his eyes.

Reese almost laughed out loud. "Y-you tried to teach Trance to _fly_?" she asked, not believing what she was hearing. "Jeez, you _are_ brave. _I_ never even had the guts to try _that_!"

Tyr gave her a sarcastic, "Oh shut up," look that just made Reese laugh harder.

Beka grinned, then looked over her shoulder. Dylan was standing by himself in front of the viewport. "I'll be right back, guys," she stated, and walked over to him. "Hey," she greeted him.

He looked over and smiled. "Hey," he replied.

She looked out the viewport where he was stared and looked back at him. "Whatcha lookin' at?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing," Dylan shook his head. "I was just thinking about...life."

"Ooh, heavy topic," Beka scrunched up her nose. "Care to explain?"

Dylan smiled. "Well, everytime a planet signs the Commonwealth charter, I feel that much closer to my goal. It gives me so much encouragement that we could actually pull this off. And then I think about the problems, like keeping those planets harmonized with each other, and the Magog attacks, and the Nietzschean slavers, and that after fifty planets, I'll lose what has probably been the best crew I've ever had."

Beka sighed and smiled warmly. "Dylan, I've said it before and I'll say it again. I wouldn't have missed this adventure for anything, and to tell you the truth, I've got no impending jobs lined up for after this. And if you think you're continuing the adventure alone buddy, you've got another thing coming."

Dylan laughed, showing his relief. He looked expectantly out the front viewport, waiting for the Aakresian ship to appear in space.

"What's taking Price so long?" Beka asked.

"I couldn't say," Dylan sounded a bit worried.

"Excuse me, Dylan?" Tyr called from behind them. "There appears to be an incoming message for you. It is strangely originating from this spot."

"Put it on-screen," Dylan replied, and Price's face appeared on the viewport.

"Captian Hunt," the Aakresian sounded apologetic. "I'm terribly sorry for this inconvenience, but my ship appears to have something wrong with its engines. They aren't receiving enough power. I'm so sorry for this trouble."

"Well, Mr. Price, I could get Mr. Harper to fix it for you, but I'm afraid it could take a while," Dylan said. "I'm not sure if you could make it back to Aakresia in time for your meeting."

"Hold on a minute, Dylan," Beka spoke up. "I could just take them back in the _Maru_ and they could come back later when the ship was fixed."

"Thank you, Beka," Dylan smiled gratefully at her and she grinned back. "Alright Mr. Price, I'll send some of my crew down to help you unload and take your things to the _Maru_."

"That is very kind of you, Captain Hunt," Price nodded.

*

Price clicked off the video communicator and stood up. He made his way to the cargo storage and knocked on the long crate that sat in one corner.

"Braighle, they're coming now," he said in a low voice. "Is everything ready?"

The lid slid off the box and Braighle sat up, looking indignant. It wasn't his proudest moment hiding in a crate. "I left the disk on the navigations port," he replied. "You're all set."

"Excellent," Price grinned, licking his scaly lips. He made his way back to the cockpit and retrieved the promised disk, slipping it into his pocket as he heard footsteps approaching in the hanger.

*

"Look at this," Harper griped as he lugged a heavy box behind him. "My fall from grace: chief engineer to stockboy."

"Ah, quit whining," Reese smirked at him. "It's good exercise. You could build those muscles you never had."

Harper narrowed his eyes at her. "You know what, Reese? I'm starting to remember why I was so much more relaxed after you left."

Reese laughed. "Yeah, well, it's a good thing I'm back then. You've been too spoiled without me here to harass you."

"Is that the last of it?" Beka asked as Reese and Harper boarded the _Maru_.

"Yeah, and jeez! I don't remember this heavy sucker when we unloaded the first time!" Harper moaned. "And I don't want a wisecrack about that either, Reese."

"Harper, you hurt me with such accusations," she put her hand over her heart, feining innocense.

"Seriously, you guys, what the heck could he have in here that could be so heavy?" Harper squatted down and picked at the lock on the box.

"Harper, don't snoop," Beka scolded him with a smirk. "Just shove it in the back of the cargo bay with the rest of them."

"Yeah, yeah, fine," Harper rolled his eyes, not getting anywhere with the lock anyway. He dragged the box down the corridor to the cargo bay.

"Beka," Reese began hesitantly.

"Yeah, what's up, kiddo?" Beka replied, checking the gauges on the ship's control panel.

"I...uh...I just wanted to say be careful," Reese managed to spit out.

Beka looked at her younger cousin strangely. "Reese, what's up? It's just a transport gig. Not nearly even _half_ as dangerous as some of the things we've run before. What's the deal?"

"Nothin', cuz, nothin's up," Reese quickly answered. "I just thought that, you know, since it's early you might still be tired and I don't want you flying into any stars, that's all." She regained her arrogant posture.

"I'll be fine, I assure you," Beka raised an eyebrow and shook her head. She wasn't ever sure whether Reese was serious or not. Beka usually found out what was really going on when whoever was chasing the girl caught up to her, and Beka had to pull her out of yet another jam.

"Okay, well, good," Reese replied, running her fingers over parts of the control panel. She was checking certain gauges, like the fuel, oxygen, and internal pressure for oddities, but trying to make it look like she wasn't.

Price and his associates boarded the _Maru_, and Reese ducked back into the cargo bay to join Harper. Beka watched her go, almost amused but with a touch of concern.

"Are the preparations complete, Miss Valentine?" Price asked Beka politely.

"Yup, we're all ready to go," Beka nodded. "As soon as the two slackers in the cargo bay get their butts out of there, we'll lift off." She said the last part a little louder, indended for Reese and Harper to hear.

The two of them quickly moved out into the cockpit and down the ramp.

"Seeya, Beka!" Harper called as they exited the docking bay.

Beka smiled and hailed the _Andromeda_, preparing to talk to Dylan.

His image appeared on the screen, and Beka grinned sarcastically. "This is Captain Rebecca Valentine of the _Eureka Maru_ requesting permission to take off."

Dylan nodded. "Permission granted, _Maru_. See you later, Beka. And I'll hopefully speak to you later, Mr. Price," he added.

Price leaned into view. "I'm certain that there are no worries to be had for that, Captain Hunt."

Dylan smiled, "_Andromeda_ out." His image disappeared.

"Alright, everyone, buckle up," Beka stated as the _Eureka Maru_'s engines roared to life. The bay doors slowly opened, and Beka turned her ship around and maneuvered it out into the black of space.

*

The bridge doors slid open and Harper and Reese entered. Tyr looked up at them with an amused smirk on his face.

"I've never in my life seen two creatures take so much time to shift cargo," he told them. "It was almost pathetic."

"Hey, I didn't see you volunteering to help, you big ape," Harper shot back. "Besides, it's not like the lizard-guys were in a hurry, right Reese?"

She didn't respond. She had gone to the front viewport the moment she'd entered the room, and was watching the _Eureka Maru_ slowly cruise toward the planet of Aakresia.

"Reese?" Harper walked over to her. "Are you okay?"

She snapped back into reality. "I'm fine, Harper, what are you talking about?"

"Well, I _was_ a little worried when you didn't even notice getting insulted," he replied. "Totally not like you, was it, Trance?"

Trance joined them. "It did seem a bit unusual," she admitted.

Reese frowned, not knowing exaclty what to say, and resumed staring out the viewport.

*

Price re-entered the cockpit from his visit to the cargo bay.

"Everything was stacked alright, Mr. Price?" Beka asked, not looking at him. "I told you the crew was reliable. A little odd, I admit, but relia-HEY!" Beka cut her sentence short with a cry of protest as Price's associates grabbed her from behind.

"Just behave, Miss Valentine, and you won't get hurt," Price hissed from behind her.

"I won't, but _you_ will!" she snarled, and wrenched herself free from their grip and scrambled to her feet.

Beka clenched her fist and knocked one of the reptilian henchmen back over the metal railing with a solid punch. The other one ran at her, but she ducked, and sent him sprawling with a sweeping trip. She jumped up to her feet again and reached for her forcelance. Extending it to become a quarterstaff, she whirled it around and fully connected with the side of the first henchman's head as he pushed himself to his feet. She brought it down across the second one's back to ensure that he stayed down as well.

"Now," she turned to Price, forcelance ready, momentarily catching her breath. "I don't know who the hell you think you are, but we do things _my_ way on _my_ ship, and you are going to do _exactly_ what I say if you want to continue living."

"I think not," came a deep voice from behind her, and Beka froze as she heard the familiar whistle of a charged blaster next to her ear. "Humans," the voice stated in disgust. "Always dropping their guard."

"Good work, Braighle," Price hissed, and shot an arrogant look at Beka. "I told you to behave."

Beka spit at him in reply, and Price snarled. Braighle grabbed Beka by the throat and slammed her against the ship's steel wall.

Beka's vision was slightly blurred, but she still recognized the Nietzschean. "Y-you were the one leading the attack on that cargo ship," she managed to wheeze out with the little air that was able to traverse her windpipe.

"I'm impressed," Braighle scoffed.

Price walked over to the control panel and withdrew a small disk from his pocket. He carefully inserted it into a slot in the panel, then set to work entering the code for its activation.

"What...are...you...doing?" Beka gasped, beginning to lose consciousness.

"All in good time, my dear, all in good time."

*

"Wh-what happened? Where'd they go?" Reese asked anybody as the image of the _Maru_ flying in space went fuzzy and blinked out.

"A minor system malfunction," Rommie's image appeared instead. "It will only take a moment." She paused, then looked at Dylan. "Captain, we are being hailed by the _Eureka Maru_."

"Put them on screen," Dylan replied, confused.

The image that followed was one of Price, which continually blinked out. The transmission was choppy, and all they managed to get was, "...help...going to...fuel leak...expl..." The image cut out, and Rommie returned.

"Rommie!" Dylan shouted, now extremely concerned. "Get the _Maru_ on the viewscreen. I want to know what's going on!"

"One moment, Captain," Rommie replied. "My system is having trouble-"

Her form disappeared, and the crew caught a brief glance of the _Eureka Maru_, just before it ignited into a ball of fire. The _Andromeda_ shuddered slightly from the force of the explosion, and the debris from the ship floated slowly outward into space.

Reese stood, mouth open a crack, eyes glued to the spot where the _Maru_ had been only seconds before. Her lips moved, but she was unable to form any words. She stood, oblivious to everything around her, withdrawn into seeing the explosion over and over in her mind.

Beside her, Trance sniffled, tears streaming down her soft purple cheeks. Harper took her into his arms, and she sobbed into his shoulder.

He turned wet eyes on the girl beside him. "Reese?" he called her name, having not seen or heard a reaction from her. But Reese didn't reply. Nor did she reply when Dylan, or Rev Bem called her name.

She couldn't reply; she couldn't even hear them.

****

To Be Continued...


	2. Loyalties

Disclaimer--I don't own anyone on the Andromeda's crew (though I WISH I owned Harper…), except the newly instated Reese

Disclaimer--I don't own anyone on the Andromeda's crew (though I WISH I owned Harper…), except the newly instated Reese. She's mine, as are the Aakresians. That's all. Enjoy! And review plz!

Loyalties

Reese Valentine sat in the farthest and darkest corner of the Observations Deck. The only thing she wanted in the entire universe right now was to be alone, as had been her desire since the accident. Unfortunately, nobody on board the _Andromeda Ascendant_ seemed willing to give her that luxury. There was always someone hunting her down, trying to get her to talk about her _feelings_. That kind of crap made Reese's stomach turn.

Rev Bem had performed a really moving memorial service for Beka, and everyone had said a few words about their departed crewmate. Everyone except Reese, that is. She'd taken one look at the photograph of her big cousin, and any words that she might have said were permanently stuck in her throat.

She had gone on, performing her duties on the starship almost without a word. Her spirit had been broken, and nobody knew how to help her.

Harper watched her on one of Rommie's security cameras. He wished there was something he could tell her that would ease the tremendous pain she was in, but he knew there were no such words for that, and she would just tune him out if he even mentioned it.

"It's upsetting, isn't it," Rommie's holographic image commented.

"Tell me about it," Harper agreed. "I don't know what to do, Rommie. I couldn't ever talk about what happened to me as a kid. She shouldn't have to go through the same thing. It...it isn't fair." He mumbled the last part, eyes back on the screen.

Rommie watched him, arms folded, eyebrow raised. "So go to her."

"She won't talk to me," Harper scoffed.

"I didn't say talk to her."

Harper turned his gaze to the hologram beside him, and knew that she was right. He nodded understandingly, turned, and walked swiftly down the hallway toward the Obs Deck.

The doors hissed open and Harper's eyes scanned the room for Reese. She was hard to spot; clad entirely in black and huddled to conceal any skin that would give her away should the light hit it. He didn't blame her for taking these precautions, though; this was the fourth place she'd been in to be by herself. The others had discovered her other hiding places.

Harper slowly made his way over to her dark corner and sat down beside his friend. She didn't react to his presence, and he rested his head against the wall.

"Hey," was all he said.

"Go away, Harper," her voice was muffled as her head was in her lap. "I _don't_ want to talk."

"Hey, I'm just sitting here," he shook his head. "I don't wanna talk either. Bad idea, that talking."

They sat in silence for a time, and Harper began to think that this wouldn't work. He turned his head to look at her, and she hadn't moved. Her arms were gripped so tightly around her legs that her knuckles were turning white, and he could barely make out the sound of her breathing.

_She's worse than I thought_, was his reaction, and he knew she was probably making herself sick. He raised his hand and took a lock of her dark brown hair between his fingers, letting her know that he was there without saying a word.

Reese finally produced a reaction, and her shoulders began to tremble. Harper carefully put his arms around her comfortingly, and she broke down, releasing the grip on her own body, and sobbed into his shoulder.

* * *

Beka forced her eyes open and was met with only blackness. The back of her head was throbbing, and when she went to put her hand over the pain, she found that they were shackled to the wall.

Her senses gradually came back to her, and she discovered that she was sitting on a cold, hard cracked stone floor. She couldn't see anything, but she could smell the dampness and rot that was usually associated with either the slums or prison, and she guessed it was the latter.

She tasted blood in her mouth and discovered that her bottom lip was split wide open. The last thing she remembered was being thrown face-first into the steel wall of the _Eureka Maru_ after being double-crossed by the Aakresian ambassador.

_That slimy bastard_, she thought, testing the shackles. They were strong, and there was no way that she would be able to break them. Not by herself, anyway...not in her weakened condition.

She sat back and leaned her head against the cold wall. She had no clue where they were keeping her ship, and there was no way she could contact the _Andromeda _either. This along with the fact that she had no idea what she had done to piss off a race of reptilian humanoids led Beka to the conclusion that, at least for the time being, she was screwed. _How the hell am I going to get out of this one?_

*

Harper entered the bridge looking emotionally exhausted. Dylan and Rommie were the only ones present, and they regarded him with a look of understanding on their faces.

"How is she?" Dylan asked.

"Sleeping," Harper replied. "Something she hasn't done for-"

"Eighty-six hours, forty-seven minutes and ten seconds," Rommie cut him off. "I've been monitoring her actions."

"Yeah, well, I don't blame her," Harper shook his head.

"And, how are you?" Dylan looked at his Chief Engineer with concern.

"Who, me? Oh, I'm fine," he shrugged. "As fine as one can be in this situation. Actually, I don't know. I have no idea what to think or do or anything."

"That's understandable," Rommie stated.

"Yeah," Harper frowned. "It hurts so much, y'know? I mean, me, Trance, Reese, Rev...Beka _gave_ us all a second chance to make something of our lives. Now she's gone. How are we supposed to go on without her?" He roughly wiped his eyes and tried to regain control of his emotions. "That reminds me, has anyone contacted Rafe?"

"That completely slipped my mind," Dylan shook his head. "I'll do it immediately."

"Uh, Dylan?" Harper added. "I think Reese'll wanna do it when she gets up."

"Of course," Dylan nodded.

*

Dreegan Mako sat at his desk. He was smiling. He had the woman locked up in a very isolated cell. And he had Trans-Galactic practically in his grasp. It was safe to say that he was happier than he had been in a very long time.

Price and Braighle stood next to his desk. He turned to them, a sly look on his reptilian face.

"Any word from Profit yet?" he asked Price.

"Not yet, sir," Price shook his head. "But I happen to know that Trans-Galactic headquarters has been paid a visit by Sigma Gamma I law enforcers."

"Excellent," Mako licked his lips.

* * *

The airlock doors shut and locked, and the door to the docking bay slid open as Reese entered. She slowly approached the ship, and watched as the tall, dark-haired, slender man dressed entirely in black, descended the ramp.

"Rafe," Reese called his name. He smiled slightly in recognition and walked toward her. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Hey, Peanut, of course I'm here. And it's good to see you again," Rafe Valentine replied.

"Yeah," was all Reese could reply, feeling herself get choked up again. Ever since Harper had gotten her to release the tears, she couldn't put them back in. She had vowed to kill him for that.

Rafe understood and hugged his little cousin tightly. "When did it happen?"

"I think a week ago, now," Reese replied.

There was a pause, and the two cousins just stood, not knowing how to say what they were thinking. "Thanks for getting a hold of me," Rafe said after a moment.

"Just doin' my job."

*

"Rafe," Dylan greeted the man as he and Reese entered the Bridge. "Good to see you again."

"I wish it could have been under better circumstances, Captain Hunt," Rafe replied, shaking Dylan's hand.

"Indeed," Dylan nodded. "But make yourself at home. You are always welcome aboard my ship."

Trance looked over at Reese, who stood with her back to the room at her station. The purple girl cautiously walked over to her friend, a look of concern on her innocent face.

"Reese, uh, just because Beka's gone doesn't mean you have to leave too, ok?" she blurted.

Reese turned her head, regarding Trance with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not going anywhere, kiddo."

"Oh, well that's good," Trance smiled.

"Why would you think that?"

"Oh, well, because I thought that since Rafe is here you might, you know, want to go back to your old life as his partner," she shrugged.

Reese nodded, now understanding what Trance was talking about. "I promised Beka I would look after you guys. I'm not going to desert you, not a chance in hell."

"Thank you," Trance smiled.

*

Harper was inspecting the Aakresian ship that had brought the ambassadors to the _Andromeda_. All he wanted to do was keep busy, to keep his mind off the pain, and this ship was the only thing he could think of that needed fixing right now. Rommie had grown impatient with his incessant tinkering while she was trying to operate.

He had checked out the engines and the thrusters, and couldn't seem to figure out what was directly wrong with them, though they were indeed not receiving any power.

"What the hell?" he wondered aloud, scrunching up his nose. The only thing he could think of was that maybe a fuse had blown, or a connector cable had shorted out.

Harper walked to the cockpit and pried off the steel cover under the control panel. He looked inside and furrowed his eyebrows. The main power cable hung loose from its socket, like it had been intentionally detached and left.

*

Beka squinted from the bright light that spilled into her cell as a door opened. A tall, muscular figure was silhouetted against it, and Beka recognized it as the Neitzschean that had attacked her on her ship. She sat up as straight as her shackles would allow, ready to defend herself if necessary.

But instead of assaulting her in any way, the Neitzschean placed a bowl of what she supposed could pass as food before her.

"What do you think you're doing?" she spat.

"I thought that was obvious," he replied.

Beka scowled, angry that he was so quick with his sarcasm. "What the hell is going on here?"

"You're a prisoner."

"Of _whom_?" Beka growled, tired of playing games.

"Does it matter?"

It was rapidly becoming clear to Beka that this Neitzschean was useless to try and get information from. "Well, Mister Conversationalist, since you've been so much help, I'd appreciate it if you'd just bugger off now," she told him flatly.

"Always the hothead, Valentine," he smirked. "Just like your brother."

"What do you know about Rafe?" she demanded, but he simply chuckled and left the cell. "_Damn_ you!" she spat after him, then turned her attention to her meal. The shackles prevented her from picking it up with her hands. "This could be interesting," she mumbled to herself as she stretched her feet out to pull the bowl closer.

*

Mako pushed the button on his desk and the door to his office opened. Price entered, carrying several flexis, and looking rather stressed.

"You had news for me, Mr. Price?" Mako asked.

"Yessir," Price nodded, fumbling through his flexis. "Our spies have reported that the Sigma Gamma I officers could not locate Profit in Trans-Galactic Headquarters. It would appear that he had gotten word of Ms. Valentine's 'demise'."

"Hmm," Mako thought for a moment. "Profit can't stay hidden forever. It is only a matter of time before he is found."

"Of course, Sir," Price agreed. "I will double our spy circuit. We'll find him."

"I have no doubt."

*

Harper entered the bridge, a troubled expression on his face. He saw Dylan talking to Rafe by the viewscreen, and he quickly moved to where Reese and Trance we working.

"Reese?" he called her name. "I've found something you might be interested in."

"Oh yeah?" she smirked. "And I wouldn't have to accompany you to your room for you to show me this, now would I?" Trance giggled at the comment.

Harper shook his head. "No. This is serious," he replied gravely.

The smirk left Reese's face. "Harper, what's wrong?"

"Follow me."

*

"You know what this means, Reese."

She looked at the cable Harper held in his hand, then shifted her gaze to his blue eyes. "It's a cable, Harper. So what?"

"What do you mean, 'so what'?" Harper snapped. "Reese, this clearly shows that Price's ship did not malfunction. It was sabotaged, and Beka was set up."

"This is stupid, Harper!" Reese replied. "Why would Price want Beka dead, so much that he would be willing to lose his life in the process?"

"Maybe they're not dead," Trance suggested.

Both turned to look at her. "What do you mean, Trance?" Reese was defensive. "We all _saw_ the ship explode."

"Well, what if what we saw wasn't real?" she shrugged. "Like a decoy or something?"

"That gives me an idea," Harper rubbed his chin. "Trance, it's your night on the Bridge, right?" She nodded. "Okay, Reese, meet us there tonight. I think I'll be able to provide all the answers."

*

Reese sat on her bed, staring at the ceiling, working out the recent events in her head. If Harper was right, if the ship had been sabotaged, and Beka had been murdered, then it was possible that the Aakresians had followed her to find Beka. And that also meant that she could be next on their list. Or perhaps it was Rafe who was next, and she had aided them by calling him here. Even if it was possible that Beka was still alive, and this was all an elaborate trap, anyone named Valentine was in serious danger.

And that meant that she had to take responsibility for what she had done.

She slowly got up off her bed and walked to the door. It slid open, and she forced herself to take each and every step to the _Andromeda_'s Bridge. The corridors were so quiet, and her footsteps seemed to echo through the darkness.

The Bridge doors hissed open and Harper and Trance looked up, looks of relief on their faces. Rommie's image was on the viewscreen.

"Okay, Harper," Reese shoved her hands into her pockets and regarded him with a skeptical look. "I'm here. Whadda you got?"

"The truth, Baby, just the truth," he replied without hesitation. "Alright, ladies, the tour has now started. If you'll turn your attention to the image of perfection on the viewscreen-"

"Harper, just get on with it," Reese rolled her eyes.

"Alright, fine, let's not get hostile, okay?" he raised an eyebrow, wondering at her sudden impatience with his quirky personality. "I've done some digging into Rommie's files, and I think I've found the missing puzzle piece we're all interested in. Observe."

Harper punched a code into the keypad, and the Rommie's image disappeared to be replaced by the _Eureka Maru_ as it exploded in space.

"So what?" Reese asked. "Everything that's seen on that screen is recorded and filed away."

"Yeah, but that's the thing," Harper shook his head.

Rommie's image re-appeared. "That recording was not located in the file used for storing events seen outside," she informed them. "Harper discovered it in the file used for incoming transmissions."

"Meaning it's a pre-recorded image that was sent to us from the _Maru_," Harper concluded. "What we were seeing was used to make _us_ believe that everyone aboard had been killed, while the Aakresians made a, uh, _quick_ getaway with our dear friend's ship."

"So Beka _is_ alive then?" Trance beamed.

"Presumably," Rommie confirmed. "And being held prisoner on Aakresia."

"What this discovery _doesn't_ explain is, uh, _why_ our lizard friends wanted to fake their own deaths and kidnap Beka in the first place," Harper went on. "Any ideas?"

"Kill 'em," Reese muttered.

"What?" Trance looked at her.

"The bastards wanna make it look like they're dead, I say we go down there and give 'em a hand," Reese replied, a cold look in her eyes. "We are getting Beka _back_."

"That's the Reese I remember," Harper grinned.

"But-but how are we going to convince Dylan to let us go?" Trance tried to reason with Reese.

"We don't tell him," she shook her head. We have two Aakresian cargo ships here-"

"Two?" the young girl questioned.

"That's where I got mine, too," Reese replied. "I'm not leaving my cousin, who pulled me out of the gutter, to die in some lizard-freak's prison. So I say we go on a secret mission and get Beka back, right _now_."

"I'm with you, babe," Harper said. "My loyalties lie with Beka. Trance? Are you in?"

Trance regarded her two friends, unsure of what she should say. Of course, she wanted Beka back. But the path that Reese and Harper were taking, their eagerness for a bloody revenge, made her skin crawl.

"Yeah, I'm in," she replied, her voice hesitant. She thought that she should go with them to maybe serve as the voice of reason...or at least try to keep them out of trouble.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your plans," Rommie called their attention. "But you can't just leave without the captain's clearance."

"Oh come on, Rommie!" Harper pleaded. "This is Beka! Dylan doesn't have to know where we went...right? Besides, we won't be long."

Rommie raised an eyebrow, then her facial features softened. "I suppose you would just override my security circuits anyway," she smiled slightly.

"Rommie, you're da bomb," he grinned. "I'll be sure to pick up some logic chips for you." He winked at her as the three of them left the Bridge.

****

To be continued...


	3. A Dish Best Served Cold

Disclaimer -- still own nothin' but Reese and the Aakresians.

Author's Note -- sorry it took so long to get this up guys! I'll try to get the next chapter up faster! Thanx for being patient! ;-) I feel I must tell you something for this chapter…it contains fluff. You've been warned.

A Dish Best Served Cold

Reese and Trance, both clad entirely in black, quietly walked down the _Andromeda_'s corridors toward the docking bay, careful not to wake anyone. Harper had gone to ensure a clean getaway, and the two girls were taking the blasters they'd liberated from the weapons locker to the Aakresian cargo ship Reese had arrived in.

"What's going o-?"

The question was asked from behind them, and Reese whirled around and had the blaster to the follower's head before the sentence was finished.

"Whoa, whoa, Peanut!" It was Rafe. "Just chill for a second!"

"_Rafe_," Reese half-hissed, half-sighed, and dropped the blaster to her side. "What are you _doing_ out here?"

"Investigating a strange noise," he smirked. "You sure aren't very quiet. And what are _you_ doing out here?"

"It's a secret," Trance made a face that was as close to mysterious as she could manage.

"I see," Rafe eyed the blasters suspiciously. "A secret that requires being armed and prepared for a Magog attack?" Trance's face fell momentarily, then she regained her composure.

"Not Magog," Reese told him. "Aakresians."

"Huh? Why?"

"We're infiltrating Mako Shipping and Transport."

"And when did you suddenly get the urge to commit suicide?"

"When I found out that they've got Beka."

Rafe gaped at her. "What?"

"It's true," Trance nodded. "Mr. Price tricked us into thinking that the _Maru_ had exploded so that he could kidnap Beka without having to deal with us. We're going to rescue her."

Rafe looked back and forth between the two girls, then settled his gaze on Reese. "You know what'll happen if they catch you, Peanut," he said seriously.

She checked the charge on her blaster, then spun it on her finger and slammed it into the holster on her hip. "Yup."

"You're crazy."

"See last answer."

Reese pushed past her cousin, and Trance followed suit, headed once again for the docking bay. Rafe hurried to catch up to them, got in front once again, and leaned against the wall, blocking their path. "There's no way in hell I'm letting you go back there."

"Like you have a _choice_?" she scoffed.

"Reese," he gripped her shoulders and lowered his face to hers, looking eye-to-eye with her. "They will _kill_ you on sight!"

"Uh, am I missing something here?" Trance was mildly confused.

"A few minor details that I'll explain to you later," Reese tried to push past again.

"Minor details like the two of us being wanted on felony charges," he told Trance, stopping Reese with his hand over her face. "Dead or alive."

"You never mentioned _that_," Trance gaped at Reese.

"Yeah, well, I didn't think it was that important," she said after smacking Rafe's hand away, shrugging her shoulders in her arrogant manor.

"We dodged bounty hunters for years," Rafe said.

"They never caught us," Reese replied indignantly.

"We barely got off Aakresia with our heads still attached."

"That's 'cause I was piloting."

"Did I _mention_ the bounty hunters?"

"_Rafe_!" she whisper-yelled, realizing that their arguing may wake Dylan. He stopped and looked at her, wondering what she could possibly say that would make this mission sound like a sane idea. "I don't care about all that, because my priorities are helping my family when it's in trouble, and that's _not_ just you and Beka. That's Trance, Harper and Rev too. I don't _care_ how insane this sounds, and I don't _care_ that I just might not make it back from this one. If there's the slightest possibility that Beka is alive on Aakresia, then _that_'s where I'm going. And not you, or the Wonderful Captain Dylan, or a cosmic storm, or the entire _freaking_ Magog army can stop me. Got it?"

Rafe's mouth moved, but no words would come out, and Reese pushed past him again, with Trance quickly following her. When he finally realized that he did not know how to stop her from going, he did the first thing that popped into his head. He chased after them and grabbed the back of Reese's black shirt. "I'm going with you."

"No way," she pushed him backwards.

"Like you have a _choice_?" he imitated her, and Trance didn't bother concealing her amusement.

She fixed a death glare on him, but he countered with puppy eyes. "When did you suddenly get the urge to commit suicide?" she quoted his words, and he grinned their identical grin.

"Just like old times?" he suggested, holding out his hand for a gun.

Reese gave him one. "They'll never expect us to be stupid enough to go back there. Let's go."

*

"Valentines are a stubborn breed," Braighle argued. "The remaining two will hear of what's happened. They will come back here to make sure."

"They can't be that stupid," Price shook his head.

The two were in Dreegan Mako's office, arguing their respective cases for the owner of the company and - practically - the planet. The Nietzschean, a skilled bounty hunter, insisted that her surviving family members would not take Rebecca Valentine's "death" entirely seriously. He made it clear that he would know; he'd been tracking the two wanted criminals for years, though it had become increasingly more difficult since they'd parted ways.

"In fact," he told Mako. "The only reason I am here, and accepted the first mission to attack Trans-Galactic's cargo freighter was because the last place I'd tracked the girl to was right here on Aakresia."

"Impossible," Price scoffed. "She could not have been under our noses without our knowing."

Braighle took an intimidating step toward the reptilian being. "Are you calling me a liar?" his voice was calm, but his dark eyes were intense.

Price's slimy forked tongue nervously licked his scaly lips. "Of course not," he shook his head. "I was merely pointing out that it is highly unlikely that she would be able to evade our security patrols."

"Well, she did," the Nietzschean replied bluntly. "And she'll do it again. She's resourceful; and highly skilled with a blaster. And I have received word from my sources that she is now aboard the _Andromeda Ascendant_."

"Now you go too far, Mr. Braighle," Mako interjected. "Price was shown every room on that ship. He would have noticed her had she been there, isn't that right, Mr. Price?"

Price was now deep in thought. Why did this sound so very likely all of a sudden? "_The girl_," he muttered to himself. "Hunt called her _Valentine._"

"What did you say?"

Price looked up at Mako. "She _was _there, sir. I remember now. There was a strange girl that I _knew_ I recognized, but I didn't know from where. I realize now that I'd seen her on the Wanted posters throughout the city."

The intercom buzzed, and Mako's secretary stated that there was someone with an urgent message for him. Mako pushed the button for the doors to his office to open, and the being rushed in and whispered into his ear. Mako grinned.

"She will contact the other," Braighle said. "They _will_ return."

Mako looked up as he dismissed the messenger with a wave of his hand. "_Good_," he replied, slightly catching the other two off-guard. "We will have a crucial ace-in-the-hole. Gentlemen, come with me. I have something of great interest to show you."

*

"Okay, boys and girls, now that we are on board the direct flight to beautiful Aakresia, I'd like to take this moment to congratulate myself on the brilliant job of hotwiring Rommie, preventing her from detecting our departure for this little field trip," Harper announced, his usual charming smile plastered onto his face. "By the time they figure out where we've gone, we'll already be on the way back. Applause is appreciated, autographs will be signed later. Thank you."

Reese, slouched comfortably in the pilot's seat, swiveled it around to face Harper, and, with one foot up on the paneling before her, clapped sarcastically. Trance laughed at his silly humour, and applauded vigorously from the co-pilot's seat.

"Yeah, Trance, 'cause his head isn't big enough already," Reese rolled her eyes.

"Wouldn't _you_ like to know?" Harper grinned, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at her.

"Kiss my ass, Harper," she pulled off her boot and hurled it at him.

He ducked. "You know," he popped back up again. "I would, but I _really_ think you would enjoy that _way _too much." He failed to duck as her remaining boot collided with his forehead. "Ow!"

"You two should really learn how to manage your anger," Trance smirked.

"Hey, I'm not the one with the killer footwear, Trance," Harper rubbed the already-forming lump on his forehead, and turned to Reese. "Who throws their boot, honestly?"

"Obviously I do, dumbass," she retorted, and held out her hand. "Now give 'em back."

"Ah ha, I don't _think _so," he shook his head, waving her boots back and forth in front of him.

"_Harper_, give 'em back!"

"You want 'em? Come get 'em!" he took off elsewhere in the cargo freighter.

"Oh, you are _so _dead!" she sprung out of her seat, and chased him, bare-footed, through the ship.

Rafe walked through the door as Reese ran out, and he squished himself against the frame to keep from getting bowled over. "Whoa, what the hell's going on here?"

"Well, human behavior is among the most odd in the universe, but I think it's called flirting," Trance explained with a shrug.

"Yeah, right, Trance," Rafe laughed. "That's a good one."

"Is that so unbelievable?"

"Reese is too smart to get involved with that kind of stuff," he shook his head, filling Reese's spot in the pilot's seat.

"I think you'd be surprised," her eyes twinkled.

"Doubtful."

"Wanna bet?"

Rafe turned to look at her with an amused smirk and a raised eyebrow. Her facial expression read that she was dead serious, and Rafe couldn't resist a gamble. "How much?"

"I have one-hundred-and-twenty thrones back on the _Andromeda_ that say Harper and Reese become the crew's newest item of gossip," Trance stated matter-of-factly.

Rafe shook his head with an exhaled laugh. "You're on."

"Shake on it," she cocked her head imperiously. He did, and they both sat back confidently.

They flew in silence for a few minutes; Rafe checking the course settings to prepare for slipstream, and Trance stealing curious sidelong glances at him.

"Something wrong?" he asked finally.

"I was just wondering," she admitted. "What happened to you and Reese back on Aakresia that's so terrible to have bounty hunters after you?"

"Um, yeah," he cleared his throat nervously. "I'm surprised she didn't mention it before with you guys going there and all...well, actually, scratch that. I'm not surprised," he shook his head quickly. "Reese and I were pulling a smuggling scam, nothing out of the ordinary. Just some of their mass-produced industrial supplies, y'know, like ship parts or whatever," he shrugged. "I can't even remember who we were smuggling for, it was so insignificant. Reese probably remembers, she's pretty good at that kind of thing."

"Yes, she is," Trance agreed, gently coaxing him to continue.

"Yeah, _any_way, the Aakresian law officers caught us, I guess they'd been tipped off or something. We had to ditch the last load and make a break back to the ship, but they were tailing us pretty close. The lead guy caught Reese, but she flipped him over her shoulder and into some piping. Now, I dunno why he wasn't wearing a helmet or whatever, but he hit real hard and died from a brain hemorrhage, or so they were reporting."

"Oh my gosh," Trance exhaled her words softly.

"I don't know how much the bounty is now, but we were charged with murdering the guy, and they tacked on drug dealing for emphasis, saying we were smuggling flash or something. Must've seen Reese's eyes...I think that's how she got the strength to throw the guy like that."

"No wonder you think she's crazy to go back."

"She'd be crazier not to go. Beka got her ass out of a lot of trouble," he admitted. "Most of which I got her into."

"You took good care of her though," Trance stated. "She's alive, isn't she?"

"I'd give my sister the credit for that one. She probably wouldn't be if she'd stayed with me. I mean, I _never_ tried to get her off of flash. Never even gave it a thought."

"Call it one of those life's mistakes she learned from," Trance smiled encouragingly. "And I bet that if you asked her, she wouldn't take back those years for anything."

Rafe grinned at her. "How much?" Trance laughed and shook her head.

*

"Harper? I _know_ you're in here," Reese stated, her voice echoing through the cargo bay, her bare feet slapping on the damp metal floor.

"Very intuitive," he appeared from behind the open door. "I _am_, however, no longer one with your head-smashing boots," he showed her his empty hands, and, grinning, leaned close to her face. "_So_rry."

She assumed her much-used very-funny-Harper-now-get-a-life-and-give-it-up stance, complete with her arms folded over her chest. "Ha, ha. Spill it, _Seamus_, where are they?"

He eyed the rows and rows of crates. "Oh, I have a feeling they're somewhere close by, _Teresa_."

"You didn't," she gaped at him.

"Didn't I?"

She scanned the cargo, mouth hanging open in disbelief. Normally, she would've just drilled a nice solid punch into his gut and laid him out - _especially_ for using her full name - but for some reason she just stood there like a moron, completely unsure of what to do. _Uh, okay, Reese, THINK. If you were Harper, which crate would you---oh jeez, THERE's a scary thought. Being Harper has just knocked Nietzschean bounty hunters out of your #1 worst nightmare slot. Gah, just start looking, they've gotta be close cuz he didn't have _that_ much time to hide 'em._ She shivered, and sloshed through the puddles on the ground to the first row of crates. _Kay, this floor is frikkin' freezing, why the hell is it so wet in here? _She opened the first few crates and glared at Harper.

"Any luck?" he smirked.

She tried to think of a sarcastic comeback, but all she could manage was a scowl. _That's not like me_, she pondered that realization briefly before dismissing it as nothing. She could see him watching her out of the corner of her eye, causing a strange sensation to shoot up her spine. _Yeah, like I need an audience to find my boots_. **_That's not why you don't want him watching you_**, another part of her mind stated. _I don't _care_ if he's watching me_, she argued. **_Sure, sure_**. _I don't! I couldn't give a fat Nightsider's ass if he stared at me with his big eyes and cute smirk all--CUTE?!?!? **There it is**. I didn't just--CUTE??? I did _not_ just say that. **Uh, yeah you did**. Nonononono, I was being sarcastic. I was--it was a joke, get it? Ha, ha, laugh it off, Reese! Laugh it off!_

Nervous chuckling escaped her lips, and Harper cocked his head.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," she quickly replied, kneeling down in the water and opening another crate.

"Hmm," he nodded. "Bet it's not as funny as your boots being behind the door the whole time."

She snapped her head up just in time to see him lifting her boots from the shadows with an evil grin on his face. Her eyes widened. "You-"

"-Never said they were _in_ the cargo," he finished for her, then took off down the corridor again.

"_Son_uva bitch," she cursed as she jumped to her feet and pursued him again. He was slow to make the turn into the cockpit area, and she caught up to him and tackled him around the ankles. "GIVE THEM BACK!"

"No!" he managed through hysterical laughter and wiggled his feet free, then pushed himself to his knees. Reese was quick, though, and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind. Struggling, he stood up, and, with a hard motion to one side, swung her around infront of him. The momentum knocked them both to the floor, Harper on top of Reese.

There was a fleeting second where they stared, dumbfounded, into each other's eyes, and then Reese quickly shoved him off in one panicky instant.

They both stood, avoiding the other's gaze, and realized with horror that Rafe and Trance were both watching them, wide-eyed, obviously trying to contain a surge of uncontrollable laughter.

"We-um-we-are we ready to enter slipstream?" Reese sputtered, nervously scratching her shoulder as Harper tensely ran his fingers through his hair.

"Just awaiting your orders, C-Captain Valentine," Rafe's voice wavered as he determinedly suppressed the threatening hysterics.

She scowled. "I'll take it from here, then," and she pushed him out of the pilot's seat.

"I'm gonna go to the Engine room and make sure everything's working, and, yeah," Harper quickly excused himself, and Trance stood up and followed him.

Rafe pushed himself off the floor and into the co-pilot's seat. "So-"

"Shut the hell up," she cut him off and engaged the slipstream.

*

Trance braced herself against the ship's frame as it jolted from the slipstream. She was standing outside the Engine room, trying to convince Harper to come out as she still found Engine rooms disgusting.

"Harper?"

"Go away, Trance, I don't wanna talk about it."

"Talk about what?" she tried to sound innocent. He appeared at the door with a very, very unimpressed look upon his face, shook his head, then slunk back into the Engine room. "Oh, come on, Harper!" she stamped her foot lightly in protest. "We always talk about things that are bothering us! And you always say that I make you feel better when you're upset, well, even though I don't quite understand what there is to get upset about, exactly."

He appeared again. "Upset? What are you talking about? I'm not upset. Not one little bit."

"Then why are you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding! I'm working!" he leaned in the room and twisted a few knobs near a pressure gauge. "See? Working. Not hiding."

"Oh, okay." They stood facing each other with arms folded, faces set in determination. "So...Reese is pretty special, huh?" she couldn't hold it any longer.

"Special? _Her_? Pfft," he rolled his eyes. "What've _you_ been smokin'?"

*

"What's up with you and Harper?" Rafe was anything but subtle.

"_Nothing_ is _up_ with me and Harper!" Reese countered, not taking her eyes off the slipstream maze before them. "Why the hell would you think that anything is up with me and Harper?"

"Well, gee, I wonder."

"Let me tell you something about Harper..."

*

"Trance, she's completely egotistical, y'know? I mean, 'hey, I'm Reese, the galaxies revolve around me cuz I'm the best damn pilot alive'," he spun around as he said it. "Do you know how hard it is to talk to someone who's so-"

*

"-Completely self-centred!" Reese exclaimed. "Do you even know what it's like to talk to someone who spends all of their time singing their own praises?"

"I can imagine."

Reese didn't notice his comment. "And also, he's _so_ sarcastic! I can't even-"

*

"-Get a straight answer out of her half the time cuz she's gotta put on _that_ smirk and crack some joke about whatever was just said. That is unbelievably-"

*

"-_Annoying_!" Reese spat. "And you know what else? This conversation is _over_." She pulled the ship out of slipstream with a lurch, and Rafe sat back in his seat with a big grin plastered all over his face, his confidence in winning the bet with Trance just boosted.

*

Harper and Trance both steadied themselves as the freighter roughly exited the slipstream, and Harper sighed. "You really wanna know how special she is, Trance?" Trance nodded encouragingly. "You remember how, oh, I dunno, _suicidal_ I was after the World Ship?" She nodded again. "Well, the moment I saw Reese walk through the doors to the Bridge, everything just _went away_. I actually _forgot_ about everything that happened, I even forgot about Stinky and Turdbrain here-" he pointed to his stomach, "-_that's_ how special she is. It just seemed like things were right again, like everything was gonna be okay."

"Everything _is_ gonna be okay, Harper," Trance comforted him.

"No, Trance, but now I believe it, see?" he said. "She...she makes me think there's something to live for besides waiting for my stomach to burst open, y'know?"

She smiled understandingly. "You should tell her that."

"I can't tell her that," he scoffed, turning to go back into the Engine room.

"Yes, you can," she grabbed his wrist.

"No, I _can't_," he turned back to her. "If I told her what was inside of me right now, and what that means is _probably_ gonna happen...I mean, why would she even take a chance on that?"

"You aren't even going to give her the choice?"

Before Harper could reply, Reese's voice, sounding slightly agitated broke over the ship's intercom. "You guys get ready. We gotta land outside the city limits to avoid the patrols. Be prepared to run for cover."

Harper turned his emotion-filled eyes away from Trance as he returned to the cockpit.

*

Captain Dylan Hunt had barely arrived on the Bridge after a - lately - rare good night's sleep. He was slightly confused as to where Trance was since she was supposed to be here, but he shrugged off the concern.

"Dylan?" Rommie's screen-based avatar looked disturbed. "Something's wrong."

Dylan looked up with a quizzical expression. "What is it, Rommie?"

"I am unable to access certain frames of my memory storage system," she replied. "They seem to be encrypted, but I do not know the access codes."

"That's odd," the Captain raised an eyebrow. "Could be a glitch in the system?"

"Could be," Rommie admitted.

"I'll get Harper right on it. Shipwide," he commanded, and the _Andromeda_ patched him through. "Mr. Harper, would you please report to the Bridge immediately." It wasn't a question. There was no response after a few moments. "Mr. Harper?"

"Dylan, I can't locate Harper on board," Rommie frowned. Her frown deepened as she continued. "I can't find Trance, Reese, or Rafe either."

"What?" Dylan hoped he'd misheard.

"They're gone."

Dylan clenched his teeth. What had he done to get stuck with the habitually AWOL crew from hell? "Do you know where they are?"

Rommie paused, scanning. "I'm sorry. That information seems to be in the encrypted files."

"_Harper_. He's covering their tracks."

"I should be able to by-pass his security with a little time. I'll know what's happened within the hour."

"Do it," Dylan agreed, then stomped off the Bridge grumbling, _why me? why me? _This was going to be a very long day.

*

Dreegan Mako walked imperially through the dungeons, flanked on either side by Price and Braighle. They came to the cell used to interrogate prisoners and entered. Inside were three guards standing over a man, who sat, with his head hanging forward, on a hard wooden chair.

"Welcome to my humble abode, Mr. Profit," Mako sneered.

The man slowly forced his head up to look at his addresser. Sam Profit, otherwise known as Sid Barry, frowned in recognition. Or rather, he frowned as best he could. His jaw was swollen and turning a shade of dark purple, and he was bleeding from a cut above his right eyebrow.

"Why did you bring me here?" he managed to get out.

"I would think you would be able to recognize a favour when you got one, Profit," Mako replied. "It's better than being chopped into little pieces on Sigma Gamma I, isn't it?"

_Not by much_, Sid thought angrily, not at all surprised that the Aakresian knew about what he'd done. Mako's spy net was second only to his own. And now even that was in question.

"But enough with the idle chit-chat. We simply _must_ get down to business," Mako continued. "I believe you know exactly what I want, Mr. Profit. Unless you've been so rudely ignoring the little messages I've been sending your way." The Aakresian grinned menacingly.

"You can't have my company, Mako," Sid shook his head. "I built that damn company from the bottom. It's everything to me."

"What use is it to you if you can never show your face in public again?" Mako hissed. Sid dropped his head again, realizing what the situation was. "I thought as much." He turned to the guards. "Lock him up. Give him some time to think. I'll be back to speak with him later." The guards nodded, and dragged Sid from the room.

"What are you planning, sir?" Price asked, anxious to be in on the scheme.

"I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse," Mako grinned, and turned to his associate. "Then I'll stab him in the back. It's what I do best, afterall."

The two exchanged a victorious sneer.

Another guard rushed into the room, and bowed to Mako before speaking. "Sir, one of our own freighters has just entered the atmosphere, but it hasn't requested clearance to land. We assume its destination lies outside of the main city. What should we do?"

Mako turned to Braighle, whose interest had been captured by the news. "It's them," the Nietzschean assured him.

"Do not interrupt their course," Mako ordered. "But put the guards on alert. Allow them to enter the city, but do not make it too easy on them. Let them believe they've beaten security."

"Yessir," the guard rushed from the room again.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, sir," Braighle drew his sidearm and checked the charge. "I have pressing business to attend to."

"By all means," Mako nodded. "And remember, Braighle. The bounty is for alive _or_ dead."

Braighle smiled slightly, and left.

*

"Halt, intruders!"

"Yes, of course, officer," Reese rolled her eyes as the four of them sprinted toward the city limits. If they could make it into the slums, they could probably lose the patrolmen. _If_ they could make it.

A gunshot buried itself into the rock beside Rafe's head, and he jumped back, nearly knocking over Harper. The two regained their balance and raced to catch up to Reese and Trance, who were fighting to keep their footing on the jagged hills of the rocky desert outside the city. The hot dry climate was ideal for the planet's reptilian inhabitants, but its open landscape was rather inconvenient when being pursued and dodging bullets.

The city itself was composed of underground tunnels buried into the rock face, with the tall buildings and skyscrapers protruding from the top of the plateaus. The slums were located on the ground level, where the tunnel entrances were. The air was cool and the rent was cheap, but the area was almost always flooded from the pressure of the water pipes that transported the life-giving liquid from the underground reservoirs deep inside the planet.

The group made it into the tunnels and ran through to a section of the slums, seemingly a market. There was an assortment of small merchant stands, including a trading post, to one side, and a bar to the near-left. Multiple species of lifeforms milled about. Most were Aakresian, but some were Nietzschean, some Chichan, some Perseid, several were human, and there were a handful of others.

"We should scatter," Reese suggested to the others. "Mingle around for a bit until the heat dies down, then we'll regroup and form a plan."

"Good idea," Rafe nodded. "See you in a bit." He wandered off.

Harper cast a nervous glance at Reese, who latched onto Trance's wrist. "I _need_ to talk to you," she whispered to the purple girl, who nodded, and they quickly went to one of the stands. Harper watched them go, then shrugged, and made his way to the bar.

"So what's so important?" Trance asked, picking up a small trinket from the shelf.

"Trance, you may know me very well, but I also know you," Reese smirked. "And I'd wager a Nightsider's ransom that you already know what's so important, don't you?"

"Maybe," Trance admitted.

The youngest Valentine kept a cautious eye on the tunnel entrance as she spoke. "I've always thought of Harper as just a friend, y'know, someone to joke around with. But when I came back, I realized how much I'd missed him. I mean, I missed you guys too, of course, but I _really_ missed Harper. And, I'm not sure that's a good thing."

"Of course it's a good thing, Reese," Trance told her. "It's the greatest thing, if you let it be. Love can be-"

"A disaster."

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean."

"Okay, well, when I was working with Rafe, we never let ourselves get involved with anyone," Reese explained. "It was like our unspoken policy; our minds were completely on the job. We both had our own reasons. Mine was Bobby."

"Beka's old boyfriend?"

"The very same. I hated the way she let him treat her. He made me so angry. That's part of the reason why I left when Rafe asked me. Then, four years later, when Beka found me after I nearly OD'd on flash, she was still with him. She'd gone back to him after Uncle Iggy died. He made her weak, but I couldn't say anything because she saved my life. I had no right to say anything about her choices, so I didn't. I let him treat me like garbage, too. He always told me I was nothing but a worthless little druggie and a waste of life. And, well, I guess he was right."

"No, don't ever think that."

Reese shrugged, and continued. "And then the way she was after he left her for the last time - how she was crying her eyes out and ready to give up? I swore that would never happen to me. Beka is like..." she searched for the right word.

"Your hero?" Trance offered.

"Yeah, and he almost wrecked her. I'll _never_ forgive him for it."

"But Harper is _nothing_ like Bobby."

"No, no he's not," Reese agreed. "Harper is different. Harper's _always_ been different because he's my best friend. But the weakness would be the same. I couldn't even get my damn boots back from him."

"Oh, I'm sure you're just being paranoid."

"Trance, I couldn't even think of a _comeback._"

"Maybe you're maturing?" Reese rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine, but that's not weakness! That's, um, lack of sleep?" Reese grinned. "Reese, Harper's a sweet guy, and he would never treat you like the way Bobby treated Beka. And you said you missed him, right? Maybe you should make the most of your time together?"

Reese raised an eyebrow. "Trance, you're awfully intent on convincing me of Harper's good points. Either he told you something, or you've got money riding on me. Which one?"

"Oh, a little from column A, a little from column B," Trance smiled, mumbling to herself.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Come on, spill it."

Trance watched the guards that were near the tunnel entrance as they took one last look around, then exited the market down another tunnel. "Maybe we should go find the others now," she changed the subject, and left for the bar.

"No, what are you hiding?" Reese persisted, but Trance continued to walk. Then Reese realized something. "Wait, what did you mean by making the most of our time together? Trance? What's going on?" Reese frowned, wondering now if there was something her friends had neglected to tell her, and hurried to the bar.

*

Harper miserably sucked on his - already - third bottle of Neubayern Weisbrau, head in hand, telling the bartender about how much life sucked.

"It's not fair, y'know? I mean, one minute I'm all ready to tell the universe to kiss my ass for the crappy hand it dealt me, and then _all_ of a sudden, the girl of my dreams walks _back_ into my life. _Now_ what do I do, huh? Am I supposed to just _tell_ her that while she's been gone, I've become a walking roach motel? Pfft, like _that_'s gonna happen. You know what I'm talkin' about?" The bartender shook his head. "'Course you don't. Why would you? Aakresians are all about business. You guys only mate for procreation, right?"

"'Fraid so, pal," the bartender smiled sympathetically. "You want another beer, or what?"

Harper eyed his now-empty bottle. "Yeah."

"Make it two," Rafe sat down beside him and slapped him on the back. "Why so glum, chum?"

"Well, you try having Magog parasites renting out your body and see if you're still ridin' cloud nine, okay?" was Harper's inebriated reply, and he froze when he realized what he'd just let slip.

"What?" Rafe hoped he'd misheard.

"Huh?"

"What did you say?"

"When?"

"Just now!"

"Oh, I dunno."

"Harper!" Rafe was getting alarmed. "Either you tell me or I tell Reese what you just said."

"No!" Harper snapped his head around to look him in the eyes. "Please, don't tell Reese."

"So you were serious, then?" Harper didn't respond, cracking open the beer the bartender had set before them and taking a long drink. "How could that be true?"

"It's a long story," Harper shrugged. "Just, please, promise me you won't tell Reese."

"Okay," Rafe nodded. "But only if you promise to tell her yourself."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Harper, I mean it. It isn't fair to keep this from her. She _is_ your best friend, right?"

"Oh, you just had to throw that at me, didn't you?" He looked toward the bar entrance and saw the two girls enter. "Okay, okay, I promise. I'll tell her."

"Tell who what?" Reese asked, coming up behind and throwing her arms around the two of them.

"Tell _you_ that you are an absolute _goddess_, Captain Valentine," Harper wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Whoa, and you are absolutely _drunk_," she grinned, and pulled the bottle of beer from his hand. "I think I'd better confiscate this." She knocked back a mouthful and patted him on the back. "Okay, boys, let's get this show on the road."

The four of them moved to one of the tables and began to discuss where Beka would be being held, and what was the best way to go about getting her out. They were so engrossed in their conversation that they did not notice the Aakresian guards from before enter and approach the bartender. Trance looked up as she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye, and witnessed the bartender pointing them out to the guards.

"Um, guys?" she interrupted the conversation and motioned toward the bar. The others looked.

"Oh, for the love of the Divine," Reese clenched her teeth and they jumped to their feet.

"Hold it right there!" one guard commanded, obviously not convincingly, as the fugitives ran out the door.

They took off down a different tunnel from where they'd come in, hoping to be able to run fast enough to shake their pursuers. The guards were remarkably quick, however, and began firing their guns at them as they gave chase. One bullet punctured a gas pipe attached to the rock wall, and the force of the explosion propelled Reese through the air a few feet, and then she crashed into the dirt ground.

"You okay?" Harper asked her, pulling her to her feet.

"Yeah, don't worry about it," she nodded, now clutching her arm close to her body, and they continued running. After a few more minutes, they stopped. "I think we lost them."

"Yeah," Harper agreed, catching his breath. "Where's Trance and Rafe?"

Reese looked around, then stomped her foot. "We must've gotten separated when the pipe blew," she groaned.

"It's alright, we'll find them," he assured her, examining her shoulder.

She winced, and wrenched it away from him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm making sure you didn't separate your shoulder."

"How would you even know?" she scoffed, poking him. "You're drunk."

"I am not!"

"Harper, you guzzled four beers in about fifteen minutes."

"Three and a half," he corrected her. "You stole the last bit. And it doesn't matter because that's nothing. I am _not_ drunk."

"And my shoulder is _not_ separated."

"Fine."

"Fine."

They continued down the tunnels in silence.

*

"Dylan, I have completed the decoding process for the encrypted files," Rommie reported. "I now have access to everything Harper hid from me, including the visual recordings of their actions last night."

"On screen," Dylan ordered, and Rev and Tyr looked up in interest. Immediately the image of Harper, Trance, and Reese talking on the Bridge appeared. Their entire conversation about how the transmission of the _Eureka Maru_ exploding had been faked, and that they were going to rescue Beka was revealed. "Oh my God," Dylan was near speechless, having caught the most important bit of the conversation: Beka was alive.

"Captain Hunt," Tyr called his name. "If I may be so bold as to offer a suggestion, I believe that we should retrieve them immediately. If what they say is true, if Beka has been kidnapped and we have been led to accept her death a true, then these little lizard men are much more dangerous than thought to be."

"You're right, Tyr," Dylan nodded. "They could be in serious trouble. Plot a return course to Aakresia. We're getting them out of there." Tyr went to work. "I don't understand, Rev," Dylan frowned. "Why did they hide this from me? Did they not think that I would want to rescue Beka if there was even a slight possibility that she were alive?"

"With all due respect, Dylan," the Magog folded his hands together. "I believe that they may have thought you would be somewhat of a liability. You have proven yourself to be very direct in problem solving, and prefer to negociate rather than enter into conflict. However, I have known Reese for quite some time, and she reacts in quite the opposite manor. Much like young Harper, she is reckless and eager for revenge. I fear that she will do something rather rash if she lets her thirst for vengeance rule her judgement, as she has done so many times in the past."

"Yeah, well, let's hope it doesn't get them into trouble," Dylan was empathetic.

"I will pray that it doesn't," Rev declared. "And Dylan? Please forgive their imprudence. They are still children, and have much to learn."

Dylan nodded understandingly, then set to engage slipstream.

****

To Be Continued...

__

Hey! Everyone getting excited about what's gonna happen? Hehe, hope so. Well, don't forget to review!


	4. A Stroke of Luck

Author's Note: Beware the fluff. 

Disclaimer: I do not regret the things I have done, but those I did not do. Oh yeah, and nothing in here belongs to me but Reese and the Aakresians. That's getting a tad redundant, eh? ;-)

A Stroke of Luck

Sid Barry listened to the rhythmic _drip, drip, drip_ of the water as it slowly drizzled to the hard cement floor of his cell from the pipe network above. He was thinking over the recent events that had occurred in his life, especially those that had changed it forever.

If Sigma Gamma I officers were looking for him, that meant that they had found out about his murdering and flash smuggling - way back when he and Ignatius Valentine had parted ways. That meant that something had happened to Beka, and since Mako knew so much about it, he had to have had something to do with it. And that meant he had to pay.

Although Beka would never have believed him, Sid _did_ feel bad about the way he had treated her upon her visit to his company. He just hadn't been able to shake the paranoia that she was up to something, and that drove him to do what he had. It had just been business, he'd told himself over and over. Unfortunately, that business had ensured that Beka, still the sweet girl he remembered and loved like his own daughter, would never trust him again. And now, she was gone.

A tear rolled down his cheek, and he growled under his breath. Mako _would _pay for what he had done. There was nothing he could do to make Sid give him the company. It didn't matter if it was useless to him now; he would not give that slimy creep the satisfaction of winning in every single category. Since Beka was already dead, there was nothing he could even bribe him with.

*

Rafe walked a foot in front of Trance, both staying close to the damp walls. They'd gotten a tad nervous after they realized they'd split with Harper and Reese, but had opted not too turn back and look for them. That would, afterall, defeat the purpose of having run _away_ from the guards in the first place. Besides, this way they could cover more ground.

"Hmm," Rafe mumbled after checking around a corner and seeing that the coast was clear.

"What?"

"I'm just hoping that Harper and Reese will still remember that we _are_ on a mission now that they're alone," he smirked.

Trance smiled. "Oh, getting a little worried about our bet, are we?"

"Not a chance. I meant that I hope they don't kill each other."

"Sure you did."

He cast an amused look in her direction, then looked back around the corner. "We have to find our way to the dungeon cells. They should be right underneath us. That's where they'll be keeping Beka." He started to the right.

"Uh-uh," Trance shook her head. "We should go left."

"Huh?" Rafe turned around. "Why? How do you know?"

"Just a hunch," she shrugged, smiling innocently.

Rafe raised an eyebrow. "Okay, your call," he agreed. "You lead then."

"Okay," Trance nodded, raised her gun, and followed the wall down the corridor to the left.

*

Harper and Reese cautiously navigated the Aakresian tunnels, albeit rather slowly. The serious nature of the situation had - for the most part - sobered Harper up, but Reese was hurting with every little movement her shoulder made. She gripped her hand of the injured right arm on her opposite shoulder, allowing her left arm to move freely, gun in hand.

Harper turned to look at her. "Hey, you doin' okay?"

She clouded her pained expression. "Why wouldn't I be?"

He shrugged and turned away again. "Where would Beka be?"

"In the sublevels. That's where the prisons are."

"You know how to get there?"

"Tch, _no_. _I_ never ended up there," she rolled her eyes. "But there's gotta be some tunnel that goes down there."

"Yeah, that's true," Harper nodded, then frowned and turned to her again. "Does it seem weird that there aren't any guards around here, minus the ones outside?"

"Weird?"

"Yeah, like, this is a bit too easy?"

"Oh, yeah, easy, I'll go along with that one," she replied sarcastically, wincing as her shoulder brushed the wall.

"I'm serious, Reese. There should at least be a couple patrolmen or something down here, but it's deserted. Seems fishy to me."

She scratched the back of her head with her gun, realizing that he was right. "Well, what do you want to do, Harper? Go and find them and yell at them for not doing their jobs?"

"I don't believe that will be necessary," a deep voice stated from further up the tunnel.

The two slowly turned to face the source, holding their breath. Before them stood a Nietzschean, not quite as tall as Tyr, pointing a fully charged sidearm at them. He looked anything but friendly, and they both snapped their weapons up in defense, and recognized him immediately.

"You were leading the attack on the cargo ship," Reese said.

"Very astute. Now come with me, and I will not have to kill you."

"Whoa, whoa, hold it right there, you big spikey ape," Harper interjected. "We're not going anywhere with you."

"I have no use for you," the Nietzschean sneered. "Just her."

"You'll have to go through me to get to her," Harper tried to make himself look big as he shielded Reese, who looked surprised by that line.

The Nietzschean raised an eyebrow. "If you insist." He spun his sidearm around and used the butt of the gun to deliver a blow to the side of Harper's head.

"Seamus!" Reese exclaimed as he went sprawling to the ground, his gun skittering away. She dropped to his side. "You idiot, are you okay?"

"Feeling overly bright, and I'm going to pass out now," he declared before losing consciousness.

She smiled slightly at the remark, then howled as the Nietzschean lifted her up by her right arm. He looked a little confused by her reaction, but didn't ease up. "You are coming with me."

"You can't just leave him here," her eyes were beginning to water from the pain, and she couldn't hold onto the gun any longer, and it dropped from her grip. "I won't give you any trouble, just don't leave him here alone."

The Nietzschean shrugged. "Alright. It makes no difference to me, and whatever they do to him is on your head. You have chosen his fate."

Reese nodded, in too much pain to speak, and the Nietzschean holstered his sidearm and slung both figures over his broad shoulders, and then silently stalked back down the tunnel by which he had come.

*

The _Andromeda Ascendant_ exited slipstream and saw the expanse of the planet Aakresia through the front viewport for the second time that week. Dylan turned to Rommie's hologram standing nearby.

"Rommie, can you trace any of the nanobots in Trance, Beka or Harper?" he asked.

Rommie's eyes turned skyward as she scanned for nanobot feedback. "Trance's are still offline, and Beka's seem to have been deactivated somehow, possibly by an injection of some kind. I am getting a clear reading from Harper, though. He's definitely down there."

"Good," Dylan turned to his three crew members behind him. "We'll take Price's ship that he left. Tyr, I want you and Rommie to trace that signal and find them. They could already be in trouble. I'll meet with the planet's resident leader, Mr. Dreegan Mako. That should buy you two the time you need to search them out. Rev, unfortunately, you're going to have to stay here. The sight of a Magog may cause a little more mass panic than needed, right now."

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few," Rev smiled his spike-toothy grin. "In any case, I am most certain that I would prove more useful here. You may require cover fire upon your return. And a quiet moment to ask the Divine to reveal your paths couldn't hurt."

Dylan nodded and clapped him on the shoulder. "No, it definitely couldn't." He, Tyr and Rommie left for the docking bay.

*

Reese sat on the cold floor of the dungeon cell, leaning up against the rough wall, cradling her right arm. Her attention went to Harper, who was lying next to her, as he emitted a soft groan.

"He lives," she smirked.

"You sure about that?" he sat up slowly and looked at her. "If I'm alive, then how come all I can see is an angel?"

"Shut up, Harper."

Harper grinned and leaned back against the wall. "So, what happened back there?"

"Big guy smoked you. You blacked out. Now, we're in the dungeon," she replied. "Too much for you to figure out?"

"No, no, I meant what happened to _you_?"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"You called me _Seamus_," he grinned. "You _never_ call me Seamus. Well, not unless you're, uh, severely pissed with me. So, come on, Reese, what's up with that?"

Reese stared at him in disbelief, mouth frozen open in horror, rendered completely speechless. It had just slipped out, and she had hoped he hadn't noticed. But he had, and now she needed a comeback. Again, she was unable to think of one, and the only thing she managed to spit out was, "Tch," accompanied by an eye roll.

"Well said, babe, well said."

"Shut up, Harper." She went to get up, but, forgetting about her shoulder, moved to push off the wall with both hands, and fell back with an agonized cry.

"Whoa, you okay?" Harper was immediately kneeling over her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I probably just pulled a muscle or something," she said through clenched teeth, but this time she did not try to prevent Harper from examining her shoulder.

He frowned, and pressed his thumb on one spot. "Does this h-"

"OW!" she howled, her body tensing.

"Nevermind," he sat back. "Well, babe, if it wasn't separated before, it sure looks like it is now."

"Dammit," she groaned, half under her breath. She inhaled deeply and exhaled in a huff. "Stupid Nietzschean jerk."

Harper laughed. "You don't have to tell me twice."

There was a jingling sound on the other side of the cell door, and it creaked open. The Nietzschean that they now knew all too well stepped inside. "Mako wants to see you," he bluntly told Reese.

"Mr. Harper," her voice was superior-sounding. "Would you please tell the large gentleman that I don't want to see anyone right now?"

"I'm sorry," he turned to the Nietzschean, playing right along. "Captain Valentine is kinda, uh, preoccupied at the moment. Can I take a message?"

"I am not in the mood for games, children. Now, come with me." Both glared at him defiantly. He moved toward them, drew his sidearm, and held it to Harper's head. "_Now_."

"I dare you," Harper stuck out his chin rebelliously. The gun whistled as it was powered up.

"Cool it, Trigger-Finger, I'll go," Reese interjected. "I could use a scenery change, anyway." She held out her left hand, and the Nietzschean looked at it suspiciously. "Gonna need a little co-operation here, Slick." He pulled her to her feet, and she winced at the sudden movement.

"You'd better not hurt her," Harper warned him.

"That was not in my job description," the Nietzschean shrugged. "I leave that to someone else." He slammed and locked the cell door behind him after moving the girl out.

Harper stood scowling for a moment, then clutched his stomach as his insides lurched. He grabbed for the medicine he'd hidden in his pocket and inhaled. The stabbing pain subsided, but as he checked how much he had left, there were only two doses remaining. He frowned. If they didn't find a way to get out of here, and quick, he could be in _big_ trouble.

*

The Nietzschean steered Reese, at gunpoint, into a small room at the end of the smelly dungeon corridor. Inside was a large uncomfortable-looking wooden chair, around which stood three Aakresians: Dreegan Mako and two of his guards. The corners of Mako's slimy mouth curled into a sadistic smile when she entered.

"Ah, Ms. Valentine-"

"Don't call me that."

"Still as delightful as ever, I see."

"Too bad I can't say the same about you."

The Nietzschean poked her harshly between the shoulderblades with the muzzle of his gun.

"It's alright, Braighle," Mako held up his scaly hand. "She is just furthering the justification for her upcoming fate."

"And what's that?" Reese rolled her eyes. "You gonna make me listen to one of your public speeches?"

Mako scowled, and nodded to Braighle, who struck her upside the head with his sidearm. Reese stumbled forward a couple steps, shaking her head, trying to clear the dazed feeling that had overcome her. She blinked hard, and stood straight again. "Braighle, right?" she asked, but didn't wait for an answer before throwing her left elbow hard into his stomach, and trying to bolt around him. Unfortunately, being a Nietzschean, he was barely phased, and grabbed her by the right shoulder as she tried to escape. She screamed.

"Now, then, we can't have any of that," Mako tsk-tsked as Braighle practically threw her into the chair. She curled up in the seat, trying to protect her shoulder from further harm. Unfortunately, her efforts proved futile, for her weak point had been exposed. "After all these years, I finally have the murderous Reese Valentine in my _clutches_." As he said the last word, he gripped her injured shoulder.

Reese tried not to concentrate on the pain. "I...didn't murder...that...guard," she wheezed through her tightly clamped teeth.

"It doesn't matter whether you did or not," Mako shrugged. "Because the mindless citizens of this planet believe what I _tell_ them to believe, and I _told_ them that you are a murderer. And once you have served your purpose, you will be executed publicly." He lowered his lizard-like face to hers. "Your suffering will be considerably less if you simply co-operate. Where is your partner, Rafe Valentine?" She spit at him, and it splattered in his eye. "Alright," he stood up, roughly wiping the vile fluid away. "We shall do this the hard way."

The two guards in the room grabbed Reese's hands and pulled her to her feet. She wailed as her shoulder was wrenched about, tears of anguish flowing down her cheeks as her wrists were chained to the stone wall above her head, putting unbelievable stress on her injury and preventing her from sitting. As she tried to keep her eyes from rolling back into her head, she could make out through her tear-blurred vision that the guards were pulling spike-studded gloves over their reptilian hands.

Price rushed into the room before they could go any further. His face looked troublesome as he spoke to Mako.

"Mr. Mako, we may have a problem."

"I thought you had everything taken care of."

"Well, you see, Sir, it's the Highguard ambassador, Captain Dylan Hunt? He's returned to our system, and he wants to speak with you personally."

Mako frowned. "Do you think he suspects anything?"

"He stated that he still wishes to discuss the possibility of signing the Commonwealth charter."

"Did he see you?"

"No, Sir. Your secretary, Delilah, took the message."

Mako thought for a moment, then nodded. "I will humour him for a while. I do not want him to think anything is awry." He looked over his shoulder as one guard smashed his fist to the side of Reese's face, leaving a bloody gash. The other dug the spikes into her shoulder, and she cried out - an eerie-sounding howl. Mako looked back to Price. "Carry on down here. You know what to do next."

"Yessir."

*

Beka jolted awake as the sounds of screams reached her ears. The bone-chilling noises echoed off the damp walls from deep in the dungeons, but she could hear them clear enough to know that they were from some pour soul being tortured.

It made her sick to her stomach to think about it, and she struggled against her chains. She was regaining her strength and had formulated a plan over her week here: if she let the chain links lie in the puddles of water that dotted the cell for that length of time, they would begin to rust and therefore weaken. Now, as she exerted all of her strength against the shackles, she felt the links begin to bend, then finally break.

"Thank the Divine," she muttered to herself as she stood and stretched for the first time in seven days. Every joint in her body cracked and popped, and she felt instantly rejuvenated. She bent and picked up the remains of the chains, and pressed herself against the wall beside the door, waiting for Braighle to return with her daily gruel. "Here, Nietzsch-y, Nietzsch-y, Nietzsch-y," she grinned to herself.

*

The door to Sid's cell swung open, and he jumped to his feet, already edgy from the screams from down the corridor. "What do you want, now?" he demanded as Price and two guards walked in. "I've already told you, I won't let you have my company."

"I think we just might have a little something that could change your mind," Price replied.

"I severely doubt that."

"Well, no harm in having a look, is there?" the Aakresian asked, and the guards took hold of Sid's arms and escorted him out of the cell and down the row of cell blocks to the room where they'd beaten him - the room where the screams were coming from. "After you," Price moved to the side, allowing Sid to enter.

Braighle had already left - presumably to collect his bounty - and the two guards that had been in the room moved away from their shackled victim, and Sid's jaw dropped in recognition. "Reese?" he jerked away from the guards and ran to her. "Sweetpea?"

"Oh God," she sputtered through the blood and tears, her body trembling. "Only...one person...ever called me that." She forced her eyes open, squinting through the mixture of bodily fluids that blurred them. "Uncle Sid?"

"It's me." He whirled on the reptilian creatures. "What has she done to deserve this?"

"That wretched creature is a wanted criminal in this galaxy, and many others," Price sneered. "And if that wasn't enough, having connections to you was." He raised a superior eyebrow. "But you can stop this, Profit. You can end her suffering."

"You _can't_ have the company!"

"It really is very refreshing to see how little you care about those you were so close to," the Aakresian smirked. "But perhaps a little time to think things over may be just what you need." He nodded to the guards beside him, and they roughly dragged Sid back to his cell. "Lock her up again, as well," Price pointed to Reese. "No sense in over-exerting yourselves when it isn't necessary." The other guards nodded, and began to carry out their orders as Price left the room.

*

Harper's heart had skipped a beat when the screaming that he knew was Reese's had stopped; he wasn't sure what that could mean. Had they decided to stop whatever they were doing to her? Had she blacked out? Was she-?

He paced the room, shaking that last thought from his head. There was no way that it could be possible. Reese was strong; she would never just _give up_ like that. Besides, it wouldn't be fair! He hadn't had the chance to tell her that...well, it would _really_ suck. A lot.

The door burst open and Harper snapped his head around to see Reese get pushed into the dark cell, and the door slammed behind her. She landed hard on her stomach and he raced over to her. "Reese? Reese, are you okay??" he asked frantically, and tried to help her up.

"_Argh_," she winced as he touched her, then coughed and spat out a mouthful of blood. "No."

"Uh, yeah, I can see that, now," he commented, rolling her onto her back, and sitting her up against the wall as gently as he could, though he could see that every little movement hurt. He quickly removed his cotton over-shirt and used it to wipe the blood from her face and out of her eyes. "That better?"

"Dunno," she replied. "I hurt too much too tell." She took a long, deep, raspy breath, then looked him in the eyes. "Harper?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm...I'm gonna tell you something I don't think I've _ever_ told _anyone_ before."

"Okay."

"I'm scared," she admitted, not breaking eye contact. "I'm scared outta my _mind_. I'm scared that now I'm finally in over my head and I really don't know how to get out of this one. And I'm scared that after everything I've been through and all the high-risk flying I've done, I'm gonna end up getting mine at the receiving end of a torture session. And I'm especially scared that I'm gonna get you killed, too." She was trembling now.

Harper bit his lower lip, and pulled her into his arms, holding her tight to stop her from shaking. "That's not gonna happen, Reese," he shook his head. "I won't let it happen."

"Harper, no offense, but how are _you_ gonna stop it?"

"Just _trust_ me on this one, okay?" he was amazed that even in this condition, she still managed to be sarcastic. Well, no, he wasn't amazed, actually. "Look, somebody once told me that 'where there's life, there's hope'. We are gonna get through this if we believe we can, okay? We're in this together, and...I'm not letting them hurt you _anymore_."

She pressed her face into his T-shirt and smiled, even though his mere touch was pure torture on her bruised and beaten body. His words _almost_ made the hurting go away, if he hadn't been carefully exploring the multiple bloody holes left on her arms from the razor-like spikes. Somehow, at that moment, she just didn't mind.

"Thank you," she said softly, and he smiled.

*

Rafe and Trance crouched deep in the shadows, watching as two Aakresian guards strode by. They had made it to the dungeons on Trance's gut instincts, and now were trying to devise a plan to figure out which cell was holding Beka. They decided that since it really didn't matter which cell it was if they couldn't get inside, they turned their attention to the guard with the key ring dangling from his belt. When he was the only one left in sight, and had his back turned, they went to work.

Rafe ran up behind him, tapped him on the right shoulder, and dashed around him on the left.

"Hey!" the guard exclaimed after untwisting himself from his moment of confusion. "Hold it right there!" he shouted after Rafe, then clutched his throat as his air supply was cut off. He blacked out and dropped to the ground. Trance stood over him and unwrapped her tail from around his neck.

"Easy as cake," she beamed.

Rafe raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He bent and removed the key ring from the guard's body, and began to scan the cell doors. "They aren't even marked, or anything," he noted. "I wonder how they can even tell them apart."

"Maybe they have some special system," she walked along the corridor, looking for clues. She stopped outside one of the doors, and crouched down to the ground.

"Find something?"

"Maybe," she pointed to the floor. "Look at the scuff marks. This door's been opened recently."

Rafe joined her. "Good eye." He selected the right sized key from the ring and slid it into the lock. It clicked, and he pushed the door open carefully. "Beka? Are you-"

He was cut off as he was clubbed over the head with something hard and metallic, and he dropped to the floor.

"Oh my God, _Rafe_?"

Beka dropped to his side, and helped him sit up. "Hey, sis."

"I'm so sorry! What are you _doing_ here?"

"Well, I _thought_ it was a rescue mission, but the hero doesn't usually get schmucked by the damsel in distress," Rafe retorted.

"First time for everything," Trance came into view.

"Trance!" Beka grinned. "Am I ever glad to see you. Finally, my luck's about to change." She frowned after a moment. "Wait, if you both are here, then you're not alone, are you?"

"No," Trance admitted. "Harper and Reese are here too, somewhere."

"You mean you don't know where they are?"

"Not exactly," Rafe rubbed his head. "We got separated."

Beka huffed. "That means she's _probably _in trouble."

"Have a little faith, sis. She could break the streak." Beka gave him a look. "Or not."

"Think about where we are and who we're talking about, Rafe."

"You're right, she's in trouble." Rafe nodded. "I shoulda thought of that sooner."

"Well, as Rev would say, don't dwell on the past; learn from it," Beka shrugged, and pulled him to his feet. "We have to find her."

*

Tyr and Rommie had parted ways with Dylan as he was admitted to be shown to Mako's office for a meeting. They were now searching the slums for any sign of their missing crew members. They came across one particular sector where there seemed to have been somewhat of a commotion recently.

"What happened here?" Rommie raised an eyebrow.

"Gall dern hooligans running wild around here, that's what!" one of the shopkeepers commented to her. "Took me a good solid hour setting these displays up again after those kids knocked 'em down! If they don't wanna have to be running from the guards, then don't do anything illegal, that's what I always say."

"Running from the guards?" Tyr picked out that one part.

"Aye, that's right," the bartender was listening from entrance to his establishment. "Couple guards came into my place, here, looking for four criminals. I told them the only odd folks I noticed were the four that just came in, but they didn't seem like criminals. The one lad seemed more lovesick to me - certainly likes his Neubayern Weisbrau."

"Harper," Rommie whispered to Tyr. "Play along. We're looking for the fugitives." Tyr nodded.

"Anyhow, they caught sight of the guards and took off," the bartender shrugged, pointing across the market. "Down that there tunnel. Kinda feel bad for fingering them. Seemed like alright kids to me."

"Thank you for your help, civilian," Tyr nodded. "The fugitives will be apprehended."

"We'll take it from here," Rommie added, giving the bartender an authoritative look. He nodded and went back into his bar. Rommie and Tyr quickly entered the tunnel he had pointed out, and continued their search, following Harper's signal again, deeper and deeper into the tunnels.

*

"Okay, so where did you get separated?" Beka asked as Rafe handed her one of the two guns he had slung on his hips.

"Way back in the ground-level tunnels," Rafe replied.

"So, thinking realistically, they could be anywhere," she frowned. "Trance, any ideas?"

"I don't really know, Beka," Trance shrugged, wishing she could help. "There are just so many tunnels and therefore so many possibilities to where they could have gone, it's really almost impossible to know exactly where they are now."

"Yeah, alright, we'll..." she trailed off and held up her hand to tell Trance and Rafe not to speak. She pointed to the conjoining hallway, indicating that somebody was around the corner. All three readied their weapons, and burst around the corner as the two on the other side did the same.

"Tyr!" Beka's jaw dropped.

"Rommie?" Trance's eyes widened.

"Busted," Rafe's face fell.

"I don't believe it," Tyr was staring.

"Beka," Rommie eyed the scattered cuts on her face. "Are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh, these, yeah I'm fine," she nodded, holstering her weapon. "A little stiff, but hell, I'm alive. Honestly, though, I don't have any clue as to why they were keeping me here, unless they just _really_ wanted the _Maru_ or something. Anyway, how many rescue squads do you _need_, exactly?"

"We're _their_ rescue squad," Tyr corrected her, almost smirking.

"Hey, we did okay," Rafe protested.

"Without authorization," Rommie quickly added. Rafe and Trance looked away, and Beka looked confused. "I'll explain later. Right now, we've got to find Harper and Reese."

"We already kinda suspected they were in trouble," Beka nodded.

"It's probable," Rommie agreed. "I have a lock on Harper's position, and he hasn't moved from that location in hours. The good thing is, he is in this area."

"And Reese is probably with him," Beka stated. "Lead the way, Rommie."

Rommie walked briskly down the dungeon hall, looking back and forth between cells. She stopped in front of one door, eyeing the blood-speckled ground in front of it. "This is where the signal is coming from," she stated.

"Oh my gosh," Trance bit her lower lip, also noticing the blood.

"I've got the keys," Rafe held them out to the android.

"No need," Rommie replied.

*

Harper could hear muffled voices from the other side of the door, and was ready to protect Reese if the guards decided to make another appearance. She was dozing against his chest, but was jarred painfully awake as he jumped when the cell door was wrenched off of its hinges. Luckily, a familiar figure was silhouetted in the door frame as the huge piece of metal was moved aside.

"Rommie?" his eyes lit up. "Doll, am I glad to see you. I thought that Nietzschean had gone super freaky on the door for a second."

"What Nietzschean?" Tyr moved into view.

"A bounty hunter. Same big gorilla that was leading the attack on the cargo ship last week."

"They called him 'Braighle'," Reese's voice was just above a whisper. Harper relayed the message to Tyr.

"I haven't heard of him, nor did I recognize him then," Tyr frowned.

Beka, Rafe and Trance, meanwhile, had rushed over to Reese. They'd been taken aback by her bloody condition, and Trance observantly noted the pieces of Harper's shirt wrapped around her wounded arms. She nudged Rafe, who shot her a silencing look.

"You are one crazy little freak, you know that? You could have gotten yourself killed!" Beka lectured her younger cousin, and Reese managed a smile. "And you are going to have to tell me a little story about what the hell your deal with this place is when we get back. But for now, let's find the _Maru_. Tyr?" she turned to him. "We need to borrow your muscles, big guy."

Tyr walked over and scooped her up, holding her with one arm the way one might hold a baby - leaning her up against his shoulder - and gripping his weapon in his other hand. She moaned as she was moved, too weak to protest any further.

Harper winced at the sound, and Rommie noticed. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's nothing my nanobots can't heal," she assured him. He smiled gratefully.

As the group carefully moved out into the hallway, Reese tugged lightly on Tyr's jacket collar, trying to get his attention. "Stop," she protested. "We can't leave yet."

"Why ever not, child?" Tyr sounded impatient. He wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. Taking on a planet's army wasn't very good strategy for survival. "Our mission here is complete, unless you are yearning to be back in the torture room?"

"Hey, back off!" Harper and Rafe ordered in unison, and Rafe scowled. It occurred to him that he was getting closer and closer to losing that bet.

"What is it, Squirt?" Beka asked Reese, shooting a look at Tyr.

"Sid," Reese uttered. "Uncle Sid. He's here."

"What, like a prisoner?" Reese nodded, and Beka looked around, then frowned. "Sorry, cuz, that's not generating a whole lotta sympathy from me."

"Beck, we can't just leave him here," Reese pushed her point.

Beka took a moment, then sighed. "Alright. You guys keep watch. Reese, where is he?" Reese paused for a second, remembering which cell she'd seen the guards throw him in when they'd taken her back as well. It had been blurry, but she could recall, and pointed to a door down the row. Beka and Rommie stalked over to it, but before Rommie could liberate it from its hinges, they were interrupted by a deep voice.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

They looked to the source and saw a tall Nietzschean step into view. Tyr sneered. "Braighle, I presume."

"That's right," Braighle replied casually, locking his weapon on Tyr. "And who might you be?"

"I am Tyr Anasazi of the Kodiak Pride." The younger Nietzschean looked taken aback. "You recognize the name."

"I do," Braighle nodded. "You possess the remains of Drago Museveni."

"And you know that whoever holds that holy relic also controls the fate of the Nietzschean people?" Braighle nodded. "Then I suggest you allow us to be on our way. You have collected your bounty on this child already, have you not?"

"I have."

"Then what sense does it make to risk your life against six opponents, five with guns, if you have nothing to gain from it?"

Braighle thought for a moment. "I have decided to ensure my own survival."

Tyr smirked. "A wise choice, boy. It would be wise to leave the planet as well."

Braighle nodded, an amused twinkle in his eye, and left the corridor. Beka grinned at Tyr, thanking him silently, and Rommie went ahead to tear the door from its frame. Beka stomped inside.

"Sid?" she snapped. "Are you here?"

"Beka?" he appeared, a look of shock all over his face.

"Let's go."

"You're-"

"Move it!"

He clamped his mouth shut and quickly joined the others.

"Dylan?" Rommie spoke aloud, transmitting to her Captain. "Mission complete. Reese and Harper are safe. We need the location of the _Maru_."

*

Dylan looked up as Dreegan Mako entered the office, an apologetic smile on his face. "I'm so very sorry to have kept you waiting so long, Captain Hunt."

"Not at all, Mr. Mako," Dylan faked his smile. He stood and shook the Aakresian's hand. "I'm sure you're a very busy man, especially considering the recent events."

"Yes, indeed, you are correct about that," Mako nodded, and sat down at his desk. "Now, my secretary tells me that you still wish to discuss the possibility of a Commonwealth signup?"

"Yes, that's true. I think that despite the losses we have both suffered, we can still find some way to reach an agreement," Dylan explained. "A resurrected Commonwealth would do nothing but good things for your economy."

Mako kept up his smile while his mind raced. _Does he really not suspect a thing? He must be even more stupid than he looks._ "I agree completely, Captain. However, there is just _far_ too much business to take care of before I can even _think_ to consider your request. I hope you'll understand."

Dylan heard Rommie's voice through the receptor in his ear. "Dylan? Mission complete. Reese and Harper are safe. We need the location of the _Maru_."

"Of course I understand, Mr. Mako," Dylan stood up. "But not exactly about what you are referring to."

"I don't quite understand."

"Then let me put it this way. You used and manipulated my trust to get to a member of my crew. You lied and deceived me into thinking she was dead. On top of that, you've endangered two more of my crew."

"But Reese Valentine is a wanted criminal on this planet-"

"Don't talk to me about criminals," Dylan growled. "Now, we're taking Beka back, and there isn't a damn thing you can do to stop us. Am I understood?"

"I don't think you are in a position for threats, Captain Hunt."

Dylan drew his forcelance and aimed it for Mako's head. "Oh, I think I am. Now, tell me where you're hiding Beka's ship, the _Eureka Maru_."

Mako narrowed his eyes, and his jaw trembled in anger. "Platform thirty-three," he submitted, and waved his scaly hand. "Now get out of my office."

"Don't ever come near my crew again."

Dylan opened the door, still aiming at Mako's head, and backed out of the room. Price entered, eyes wide, staring at his boss. "Why did you let him go?"

"There is plenty of time to devise a way to dispose of him," Mako explained, swiveling his chair to look out the window. "He will be an interesting enemy. Besides, we still have an investment deal to seal."

Price swallowed hard. "I am afraid that isn't so, sir. Hunt's crew has freed Profit."

Mako's eye twitched, but he kept his composition. "I cannot say that I am not disappointed, Price. Luckily, for your life, this is just a minor setback. Mako Shipping and Transport _always_ comes out on top. Mark my words."

He sat quietly thinking for a long time after that, eventually watching the _Eureka Maru_ escape the planet's atmosphere, and he bid it good riddance for the time being.

****

To Be Continued...


	5. Through the Heartache and Pain

Disclaimer – I do not own Andromeda. I own Reese. That is all.

Author's Note: AUGGHH! FLUFF ALERT! BONNIE, THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! AUGGHH!!!

Through the Heartache and Pain

Trance watched joyously as Reese slowly pushed her eyes open and forced herself to sit up on the bed in the med-room. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Like I just had the crap kicked out of me," Reese replied, and put her hands to her head. "And kinda drained, too."

"The nanobots I injected into your system should take care of that in about a day," Trance smiled. "Until then, just take it easy, okay?"

"Whatever you say, Doc," she nodded, examining the spots on her arms where the wounds used to be. The nanobots had done a great job repairing the tissue damage. She went on to test her shoulder, and found that it moved without sending spurts of anguish through her body. "So, is Beka okay?"

"She'll be fine. Dylan's pretty happy to have her back, but he's not too impressed with the stunt we pulled, I think."

"So we're in big trouble, huh?"

"Maybe not as much as we could've been in. He was waiting for you to recover before he talked to us."

"No problem, we'll just say I'm still unconscious," Reese smirked as she lay back down.

"Nice try, Squirt," Beka's voice came from the doorway. "But I think you'd better put that idea on the shelf for today." Reese sat back up and grinned. "How are you?"

"You know me, cuz."

"Yeah, takes a lickin', and _barely_ keeps tickin'."

"But does, none-the-less."

"Not without a little help, you don't," Beka reminded her. "I think you'd better set your gratitude on overdrive, kiddo, especially toward Dylan, Tyr, Rommie and Harper."

"Harper?"

"Do you even have any idea how much he tried to protect you down there?"

"I remember him getting flattened for trying to be a hero."

"And look where trying to be a hero got you."

Reese blew the strands of hair out of her face and sighed. "Yeah, I know. I pulled a me. I guess you're gonna say I'll never learn, huh?"

Beka sat down beside her on one side and Trance on the other. "Oh, sure you will. You just need to start _thinking_ before you do things."

"And besides, since you're here now, and not smuggling anymore, maybe you could, I dunno, settle down a bit?" Trance suggested, and both cousins looked at her with raised eyebrows. "What?"

Reese shook her head and closed her eyes, rolling her shoulders back until she heard them pop. She wasn't looking forward to talking to Harper; he was acting so _weird_ lately. Trance and Beka exchanged a silent look over her shoulder in which the purple girl revealed that she had something to tell the elder Valentine female when the younger wasn't present that would explain her statement.

The med-room door slid open and Harper entered, looking like he'd been hard at work in the machine shop since his goggles were over his eyes and his face was covered in grime. "Trance, have you-" He noticed Reese and pushed his goggles up onto his forehead. "Oh, hey, you're awake."

Beka looked between the two of them, noticed Trance trying to conceal her amusement, and mentally smacked herself upside the head. How she'd not figured this one out sooner was beyond her, but there was no need for Trance to explain now, in any case.

"I'm going to go have a chat with Sid," Beka declared. "Something tells me that he's got something to confess. Reese, you and Rafe join me after Dylan's lecture, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Reese nodded.

"Hold on, Beka, I'll walk with you," Trance offered. "I've got to head down to the Bridge, anyway."

The two girls left, and Harper turned to Reese. "Was it something I said?"

"Somehow I doubt it."

"Look, uh, Reese, there's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while now," Harper wiped his grubby hands on his coveralls and moved over to lean on the bed. "It's, uh, it's kinda important."

Reese furrowed her eyebrows, noticing how worried he looked all of a sudden. She leaned forward so her face was level with his, and looked into his eyes. "What's wrong, Harper?"

"Well, it's kinda weird, and, uh, hard for me to say, but-"

"It has come to my attention that you have regained consciousness, Reese," Dylan's voice broke in over the ship's comlink. "And I am very pleased to hear that. However, and since Harper is there with you, I will now ask you both to please meet me in my quarters. We need to discuss something."

"Yes, Captain," both of them replied unhappily and left the room without another word.

*

Dylan looked up as his door hissed open and Reese and Harper entered. They sat down between Trance and Rafe who looked just as downcast as they did. Dylan folded his hands on his desk.

"I can't say that I'm not a little bit angry and very disappointed with the four of you," he began, "but I'm also confused." They looked at him quizzically. "Rev Bem thinks that you may have thought I would slow down your mission, but did you really believe that I wouldn't do everything in my power to bring Beka back had you told me what you'd discovered?" They hung their heads. "Harper, you of all people should know that. Did I hesitate to go down to the Wor-"

"I know, Dylan," Harper quickly interjected before Dylan could complete his sentence, glancing nervously at Reese for a moment, but she hadn't picked up on what Dylan had begun to say. "We're really sorry about that."

"It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision," Trance frowned. "I think maybe some of us were so hungry for revenge that we weren't really thinking."

Reese nodded. "I was the one who said that we shouldn't tell you, Dylan. I feel really bad since I could have gotten all four of us killed, and I put you in a bad situation. I'm sorry."

"And I shouldn't've rewired Rommie," Harper added. "I was totally out of line."

"Yes, you were," Dylan agreed. "And I'm sure that she's already given you a piece of her mind about that."

"Oh, you better _believe_ it," Harper nodded.

Dylan smiled, and then continued with his lecture, making himself _perfectly_ clear that should any of them try a stunt like this again, Reese, Harper and Trance would be confined to quarters - when not on duty - for a month. Also, Rafe would be banned from coming aboard the _Andromeda_ for half a year. As for their punishments for this time, they had cleaning duty. They didn't argue that decision.

When the briefing was over, Reese and Rafe left to join Beka in questioning Sid.

*

"So spill it, Sid," Beka demanded, folding her arms across her chest. "What's going on?"

"I'm in big trouble, Beka," Sid told her.

"When aren't you?"

"When Mako staged your death, the information in the nanobots in your hair was sent to the authorities on Sigma Gamma I. They came to Trans-Galactic looking for me, but my informants had already told me what had happened, so I went into hiding. Unfortunately, some of my employees must be Mako's spies, and he found me before long."

"But why is Mako after you?"

"Not me, Beka - my company. He wants to own the entire shipping monopoly."

"I see. Things are starting to make a little more sense, here." She looked over her shoulder as Rafe and Reese entered the room. "And somehow I'm not surprised that this whole mess was because of you."

"Because of _him_?" Reese stopped. "But I thought-"

"You're in the clear, Squirt," Beka shook her head, and Reese's face reflected the weight that had just been lifted from her conscience.

"Look, kids, I need your help," Sid pleaded. "I can't show my face at my company again, but I cannot let Mako get control of it, do you understand?"

"Worried about your damn company again," Reese snorted.

"I worked hard for it, Sweetpea-"

"_Don't_ call me that. You don't get to anymore. You lost that right when you were willing to let them torture me down there in exchange for your freakin' company."

Beka and Rafe gaped at him. "You just don't get it, do you, Sid?" Beka spat, and he hung his head.

"Think we should hand him over to the authorities, sis?" Rafe glowered at Sid.

"As much as I would love to, that would put Trans-Galactic up for the highest bidder, and that would be Mako," Beka frowned. "After what he pulled, I'm not doing him any favours."

"So, what are you going to do then?" Sid sounded worried.

"Perhaps I might be able to provide a suggestion?" Tyr stated from the doorway. Beka motioned for him to continue, and Tyr told them of a planet called Midden that was inhabited mostly by fishermen and simple people of those sorts. Although it is ruled by members of the Drago-Kazov Pride, Tyr deduced that they probably wouldn't pay too much attention to another mere fisherman, considering the Dragans had other, more important matters on hand at the moment. It would be the perfect place to start a new life.

"But," Sid hesitated for a moment. "What about Trans-Galactic?"

"Record a holodisk," Beka told him. "Leave it to one of your executives."

"I would rather it be left to someone I knew I could trust," Sid shook his head. "Someone like you."

"No way," Beka rejected the offer. "Not interested."

"I knew you wouldn't be," Sid replied. "Your loyalties lie here. But what about you?" he turned to Rafe. "Are you interested?"

"_Me_?" Rafe almost choked on his words.

"Well, why not? You're twenty-eight without purpose or direction in life. This could be your calling."

"Yeah, or the bounty hunters' calling to come get me."

"Change your name; it worked for me."

"Well, I, uh," Rafe stammered.

Beka put a hand on his shoulder. "Sounds good to me, bro. You could use a little direction. No offense."

"None taken," he turned back to Sid. "Yeah, okay, I'll do it."

"Excellent," Sid smiled. "I'll record your ownership on the holodisk for you to present to the company on Diphda Five."

"And I'll take you to Midden on the way in the _Om Shonti_," he nodded.

When everyone was satisfied with the plan, the five of them went to report the decision to Dylan, just to make sure that Sid's secret whereabouts would be safe with him. Nobody wanted to take any more chances with keeping information from their Captain.

* * *

Rafe had left after a heartfelt goodbye from his sister and cousin. He promised he would send word when things had calmed down, and gave an extra long hug to Reese, telling her that he was glad she was alright since he hadn't seen her in four and a half years.

Reese had refused to say goodbye to Sid, however. And nobody blamed her.

She, Trance and Harper had nearly finished serving their punishments. All Reese had left to do was finish cleaning the Obs Deck and she was free. As she was precariously perched on top of several chairs trying to clean the highest parts of the large window, Tyr entered.

"You are going to break your neck," he stated bluntly.

"But the window will be spotless," she replied without hesitation.

"A rather twisted bit of optimism," the Nietzschean mused. He approached her makeshift scaffold and leaned against the window.

"Hey!" she shrieked. "I just washed that! You're gonna get it all smudgy!"

He moved away from it with a look of surprise on his face. "May I speak with you for a moment?"

"What's up?" she raised an eyebrow.

"I am intrigued by what happened to you on the planet," he admitted. "You have an incredible will to survive, for a human. There are few of your kind who could have survived that kind of punishment."

"Beka could. That's why I had to be strong. I had to help her, and I couldn't exactly do that if I was dead," she said. "Thing is, if you guys hadn't shown up, I doubt I would have lasted much longer, even just sitting in the cell."

"It is still something I cannot help but respect."

"Well, thanks, I guess," she took a last swipe at the highest part of the window. "Done," she grinned and carefully climbed down to the ground. "Now I get to ask you something."

"Oh?"

"Are you really, like, the _leader_ of the Nietzscheans?"

That caused Tyr to smirk slightly. "Not exactly. The mummified body of Drago-Museveni is the most sacred artifact to my people. It is hard to explain, but basically, whoever possesses them holds power over every Pride, for they would not dare risk putting them in danger. That is why the young mercenary knew my name."

"I get it. Kind of a 'capture the flag' deal, right?"

"You might call it that."

They stood in silence for a few moments, Reese staring out at the expanse of stars. Tyr regarded the girl thoughtfully. "Not meaning to be rude, but if you are finished your assignment, exactly why are you still in here? Shouldn't you be making the most of your time with Harper? He hasn't much left."

Reese's body stiffened and she snapped her head around to face him. "What do you mean?"

"I know that I have been telling him to stay strong, but, truth be known, he really doesn't have much longer to live without a cure."

"What? Why?"

"Due to the Magog larvae in his stomach, of course." She stared wide-eyed at him. "Those that he so childishly refers to as 'Stinky' and 'Turdbrain' and other such nonsense." She still showed no sign of understanding what he was saying. "We _are_ trying to find a c-"

"Is this some kind of sick joke?"

Tyr frowned. "Do you mean to say that he never told you?" She shook her head. "He never once mentioned the World Ship, or the Magog Invasion of the _Andromeda_, or the medication he has to take to keep the larvae dormant as long as possible?" She continued to shake her head through the questions. "How terribly irresponsible of him," Tyr concluded.

"I don't believe this," she suddenly looked sick, and quickly slid down to the floor.

He crouched beside her. "I apologize for the way you had to find out," he sympathized, "but I am afraid that it is all true."

She looked up at him, and her eyes already had a glossy sheen. Tyr felt his stomach lurch in a moment of helpless desperation as he silently prayed that Beka or Trance or even Rommie would walk in and rescue him from becoming the girl's inevitable shoulder to cry on.

"How could this happen?" she was struggling to keep her emotions under control.

"Perhaps that is a question you should be asking him?" His urgency to escape the situation was vaguely evident through its mask of sincerity.

"How can I ask him? This isn't exactly a conversation you have around the breakfast table, y'know? Why wouldn't he tell me about this? Am I really that hard to talk to? I don't _understand_, how could he _do_ this to me?"

The barrage of self-pitying questions ate at Tyr like a ravenous predator, and his sympathy for her turned instantly to anger and disgust. He hadn't had the patience to put up with that act from Harper, and he certainly wasn't going to stomach it now. He stood up, looming over her, resisting the temptation to just up and yell at her about how she and Harper were perfect for each other - both being incessantly whiney. He held his tongue, turned, and stomped out the door.

Reese watched him go, and dropped her head into her hands.

*

"You did _what_?"

Tyr scowled. When he had begun to tell Beka, Trance and Rommie about Reese's reaction to Harper's condition, he had half-expected them to agree that she was being foolish. Instead, they seemed more concerned with the actual fact that he had told her in the first place.

"It was a slip on my part," Tyr admitted. "But I had assumed that the boy would have already told her about such an important detail."

"He was going to, but I think he was waiting for the right time," Trance explained.

"Oh, this is bad," Beka shook her head.

"I don't understand why it is so hard for them to just speak to each other," Tyr replied.

"Harper procrastinates and Reese hates talking about feelings," Beka shrugged. "It all works out to be one big mess that's difficult to fix."

"It's all very silly," the Nietzschean scoffed.

"To a Nietzschean, it would be," Rommie stated matter-of-factly. "But this has become a very sensitive situation. We'll have to handle this very carefully."

"All we have to do is get Reese to confront Harper herself," Trance suggested.

"What's all this 'we' business?" Beka raised an eyebrow and turned to Tyr. "_You_ screwed this up, therefore _you_ can go and fix it."

"Perhaps she will fix it herself," Tyr said.

"Doubtful, but we can see. If she hasn't gone to talk to him by tomorrow, it's your job to make sure that she does. Got it?"

Tyr narrowed his eyes at Beka, but he didn't feel inclined to argue. "I may have an idea."

*

Dylan, Rev and Reese were the only ones on the Bridge, and each was doing their own thing. Reese was absently studying a map of slip jumps to Diphda Five, realizing how far away Rafe was. Really, it was just something to take her mind off what was really troubling her.

Beka and Trance entered and went over to Reese.

"Hey, Squirt, wanna learn how to fly this baby?" Beka smiled.

"Huh?" Reese looked up at her. "Oh, uh, no. Not right now. Thanks anyway, Beka."

Beka's stomach dropped. _Oh, this is definitely bad_, she thought to herself. She and Trance walked over to Dylan and motioned for Rev to join them. He complied, and the girls proceeded to explain the situation in hushed voices to their Captain and crewmate.

"Poor kids," Dylan sympathized, glancing at Reese, who was still off in her own little world. "That must have been one hell of a shock for her."

"You're not kidding," Beka nodded.

"Knowing you, Beka, I expect you already have some sort of plan to remedy this?" Rev Bem asked.

"Well, Tyr's got an idea that could piss her off just enough to make her take action, that is, if she doesn't do it by herself by tomorrow," Beka nodded. "Which she probably won't, so, hopefully it works."

"Gonna tell me what this plan is?" Dylan asked.

"You'll find out tomorrow as it happens," Beka winked. "There's nothing more fun than playing matchmaker for your little cousin unless you can do it with the entire ship listening in."

"Ah, touché," Dylan agreed.

* * *

Tyr stomped his way down the halls of the _Andromeda_ toward the mess hall. It was the next morning, and, as Beka had predicted, Reese had yet to speak to Harper. The Nietzschean was not pleased about having to carry out this plan, but deep down he knew that it was partly his fault for how she was reacting in the first place. Therefore, as reluctant as he was, Tyr would do as he had promised. He had purposely avoided the girl the entire day before after their talk on the Obs Deck for this upcoming moment to be more believable. Not that he had had any desire to be around her in that mood anyway.

He entered the mess hall, and his top lip curled when he saw Reese sitting at the table, mulling over her breakfast. It wasn't hard to act angry with her, and he allowed his face to twist into a disgusted grimace. He waited until he knew she had seen him, then quickly slipped back out into the hallway.

"Tyr!" she followed him out. He didn't answer and kept walking, so she quickened her pace to catch up to him. "Hey! What's your malfunction? You avoided me all yesterday and _what_ the hell was that face for back there? I mean, not that I _care_ or anything, but-"

"You'd best not bait me, child, I am liable to do something I may regret later," he cut her off.

"What? Why? What did _I_ do?"

"The question is 'what _didn't_ you do?'" Tyr stopped and turned on her. "Do you honestly believe that your immature behavior is getting you anywhere?" he snapped. "The longer you sulk, the less time Harper has left, so exactly what do you hope to accomplish?"

*

"Oh, he's good," Beka commented from where she, Dylan, Rev, Trance, and Rommie were listening on the Bridge, where the conversation was being transmitted. There was a collective round of nods, and they eagerly waited to hear more.

*

Reese was taken aback. "I-w-I wasn't sulking! I just needed time to think!"

"Oh, well, now I understand what was taking so long," Tyr shot at her.

Reese's mouth formed a tight scowl and she glared icicles at the Nietzschean. Tyr watched her expectantly, hoping that his words had done their job and had inspired her to actually _do_ something. He was not disappointed in the matter.

The girl clenched her fists and stormed down the corridors of the warship in the direction of the machine shop.

"Mission accomplished," Tyr smirked, and headed to the Bridge.

*

Harper was sitting on the floor of the machine shop, goggles securely over his eyes as he tried to spark a blowtorch to life. He noticed Reese enter and put down the tools as he stood up to greet her.

"Hey, Reese, what's-"

She pushed him angrily, and he stumbled backwards a few steps before being stopped by a metal shelving unit stocked with spare mechanical parts.

"Seamus Zelazny Harper, you are _such_ a jerk!" she exploded.

"Whoa, _what_?" he was genuinely confused.

"How could you not tell me about the Magog and what they did to you? How _could_ you?"

His face fell. "Oh..."

"Oh? That's all you can say? _Oh_?" she was close to the breaking point. "Harper, what, did you think I wouldn't talk to you again or something? Dammit, you're my _best_ friend! I would never _do_ that to you! You're a great guy and you're funny and you're _so_ smart and _that_'s why I love you _so_ much! And that doesn't change just because you're sick and if you don't _get_ that, then..." she took a deep breath, "then you're just a big dumbass."

Harper, who had averted his eyes during most of her speech, snapped his head up. "What did you just say?"

"You're just a big dumbass."

"No, before that." She didn't answer, and Harper gaped at her. She looked away, wrapping her arms around herself, suddenly feeling very exposed. Harper realized that he probably should do something rather than stare at her, and he quickly walked over to her. "Hey, come here," he offered, touching her arm.

"No, Harper, just don't touch me right now, okay?" she pulled away. "I can't do this right now." Without another word, she left a stunned Harper all alone in the machine shop.

*

"She said it," Trance was in awe. "She actually said it."

"But, why did she...what the hell just happened there?" Beka was confused. "I should go talk to her." She started to the door.

"Hold it," Dylan commanded.

"Dylan, she's upset, and-"

"And it's Harper's job to find out why. You wanted this to work, Beka. Now you've got to step back and let it."

"Yeah, Beka, you're not the only one who wants this to work, y'know," Trance agreed, and the others raised an eyebrow at her. "Hey, I've got a hundred and twenty thrones bet on them."

Tyr rolled his eyes. While choosing a mate was indeed a gamble in life, it was not something to be bet upon like a recreational activity.

Rommie cut into the silence. "Reese has entered the Observations Deck. I'm patching all audio feed from that area to here."

*

Reese stood staring out the enormous window into the depths of space, trying to sort out the muddle of thoughts in her head. Why had she said it? _Because you mean it, moron_. But now everything was going to change. _Everything already _has_ changed. Now it's time to finally be honest. It's how it should be. You know it's right. _Is it? _Yes_. No. **_I don't know!_**

"Reese?" Harper poked his head in the doorway. "Can we talk?" She didn't answer, leaning her head against the window. "Reese, just listen for a second, okay?" he pleaded, moving closer to her until he stood behind her, just not touching her. "I didn't tell you, I should have and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry about that I didn't mean for you to find out from someone else. It's just, well, I really don't know what to think about it, myself, and sometimes it really hurts, and I didn't want to put you through the same thing. B-because," he put his hand gently on her shoulder, "you aren't supposed to hurt someone you love."

She didn't look at him, but heaved a wavering sigh. "Then that's why you _should_ have told me," her voice quivered, and Harper realized just how much she was hurting by not knowing all this time. "I would have felt a lot better hearing it from you...instead of _Tyr_."

Harper made a face - leave it to Mr. Sensitivity himself to spill the beans. "I'm sorry," he repeated.

"Yeah, well, you should be."

He moved to stand beside her, leaning up against the window to look at her, and saw the tears running down her cheeks. _This is the second time you've made her cry_, he pointed out to himself, wiping away a tear from her cheek with his thumb. He found himself telling her everything - the entire story of the invasion, and how scary the World Ship was, and what Magog larvae feel like inside your stomach, and the medicine that keeps them dormant, and the suicidal tendencies he'd had before she had returned. He said everything that he'd told Trance just before landing on Aakresia - about how when he saw her, he knew everything would be alright. By the time he'd finished, he was standing behind her again, now holding her tightly around the waist. They stood in silence, just feeling the other's body against their own.

"Harper?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about how I reacted before," Reese apologized. "In the machine shop, I mean. It's just, well, there's something I have to tell you. When I said what I said to you, my stomach did a complete backflip. I got scared."

"I scare you?"

"No! No, Harper, it's not you, not at all," Reese shook her head. "L-love scares me."

"Love? Why?"

Reese sighed deeply. "To most people, love means happiness, fulfillment, relationships, devotion, being completely smitten with someone and sex - all those wonderful things, right?"

Harper couldn't help the grin that crept across his face. "Well, yeah."

"Not to me. From what I've learned in life, love is convenient, and sex means money."

"I don't get it."

"Harper," she hesitated, catching her breath in an attempt to keep her emotions under control. "When you're a fifteen-year-old Flash addict, a girl, and broke, there aren't a whole lot of ways to raise the fundage to get a fix, y'know? There are things I had to do to get..." she let the sentence trail off.

"Reese," Harper realized what she was talking about. "I-I'm sorry. I never knew. Is there anything I can do?"

"Not really," she turned and wrapped her arms around his neck. "But this works."

"You sure?"

She looked at him. "How long have you known me, Harper?"

He thought for a moment. "Four years now, I think."

"In that time, have I ever backed down from a challenge?"

"Tch, yeah that would be the day."

"Exactly. And this could very well be my - hell, it's _our_ biggest challenge yet, and _I_ sure as hell ain't gonna start backing down from things now. I wanna stick around and see where this one takes us."

"Same here, Doll. This is a good thing. Trust me."

She leaned her head against him, and he just held her. It felt right.

* * *

"Did Rafe leave a forwarding number?" Trance wondered aloud, searching through the database for any records of such a thing, imagining how she could have been one hundred and twenty thrones richer had he not left so quickly.

Tyr frowned at her. "Do you really think that is appropriate?"

Trance looked up, her innocent pout in full effect. "What do you mean?"

"To gamble on chance of procreation, it is barbaric."

"It's not procreation, it's love. And that is a gamble anyway, so why not make a little money off it?"

"This whole situation seems absurd to me," Tyr rolled his eyes. "I am at a loss when trying to understand the logic in their pairing. You may consider them to be 'cute', or other such nonsense, but from a Nietzschean standpoint, they are unsuitable mates. Harper, for one, has a stomach full of Magog larvae, which severely hinders his chances for survival. Reese has a history of addiction - of _dependency_. And they are certainly both lacking in the luck department."

"True on both accounts," Trance agreed with a slight shrug. "But survival is the most important thing to a Nietzschean, right?"

"That is correct."

"And who knows more about surviving against heavy odds than Reese or Harper?"

Tyr allowed a smile. "Alright, I can accept that. But, to further my argument, even if they were to survive long enough for procreation, both have their demons. They could be discouraged by them."

"It's cute that you're so concerned that they reproduce," Trance winked at him, and Tyr winced at the sudden thought of one or more little Harpers running around. "But as for their demons," Trance continued, "I think that they can overcome them together. Personally, I'm more worried about Beka."

"Why is that?" Tyr raised an eyebrow.

"Well, by the look on her face, I think that was the first time she ever truly found out about Reese's past - about selling her body for Flash, I mean. The worst part is, Beka can't even talk to Reese about it, because we weren't supposed to be listening."

"I see what you mean."

*

Harper was smiling - a real smile. It wasn't one of those fake smiles he'd gotten so good at plastering across his face so people wouldn't constantly ask him how he was, or rather, how _they_ were. No, this smile was genuine, and one that reflected how he was truly feeling at the moment. It was that same feeling he'd had when Reese had walked onto the Bridge of the _Andromeda_ that fateful morning. Everything was going to be alright, because things were as they were meant to be.

He spotted Beka leaning against the wall in one of the hallways, deep in thought. "Hey, Boss," he greeted her cheerfully. She didn't respond, and he stopped. "Beka? You okay?"

She snapped back into reality. "Huh? Yeah, Harper, I'm fine."

He'd heard _that_ response all-too-often. "You sure nothing's wrong?"

She smiled, and shook her head. "Nothing important, anyway. Not compared to what's been going on around here," she winked at him. "Congrats on finally getting through to her."

"Yeah, well, it was only a matter of time before the old Harper charm won her over," he grinned.

Beka laughed, and slung her arm around his shoulders. "You, mister, had better take _extra_ good care of her, or I'm coming after you. Got it?"

"Aye, aye, Captain," he saluted. "You got my word, Boss. Only the best for my gal."

"Good." They walked together to the Bridge. Beka's thoughts were still troubled about Reese's past, but she felt better knowing that Harper was there to help mend her cousin's emotional scars.

*

"Ah, so here you are."

Reese turned around to see Dylan standing in the doorway of the Hydroponics Garden. "Yeah," she smiled. "It seemed like a good place to think."

"It is that," Dylan nodded. "May I ask about what?"

"Well, I was noticing how many different kinds of plants there are here," she looked around. "Now, I'm no Trance, but I know that most of these normally wouldn't be found growing in the same place. It's kinda neat how they're all together."

"I know what you mean. It's comforting to know that so many different species from different environments can be gathered in one place, and still have a sense of belonging, isn't it?"

The girl closed her eyes and nodded, thankful that he understood completely how she felt. "Dylan, I wanna apologize to you. I've only been here, like, two weeks now, and I've already caused you so much trouble."

"As much as I appreciate the apology, there's really no need," Dylan assured her. "This entire mission to restore the Commonwealth has been a great learning experience. It's based on building foundations of trust, and that is something that takes time, but is possible through honesty. It is up to those who sign up to decide how much time it will take for the trust to appear." He bent over and picked up his basketball from the floor. "Do you know how to play?"

Reese eyed the ball, then shook her head. "Sorry."

"Do you want to learn?"

The grin returned to her face. "Sure."

Dylan tossed her the ball.

****

The End.

Author's Note – There, are everyone's teeth rotting now? GOOD! HA! Lmao. Well, I hope you liked it cuz I'll be back with more Reese/Harper fics because heck, now that I've STARTED writing fluff, I just can't help it! I have to write more! Haha, if you liked it, I hope you'll check them out when I post them. Until then, this has been your friendly neighborhood Fuzzy Elf, signing off. Adios.


End file.
